


Happy Hawaiian Thanksgiving

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Very McDanno Days [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Attempted crimes, Because it is bull that they ever split up, Competition, Cooking, Dad Steve, Drugs, Engagement, Established Relationship, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Football, Hand Turkey, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mild Sexual Content, Minor Kono Kalakaua/Adam Noshimuri, Protective Danny "Danno" Williams, Secret Plans, Sneaking Around, Storms, Stubbornness runs in the family, Surprises, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Thanksgiving fun, Thanksgiving traditions, The dog gets sick, Trip to the vets, embarrassing parents, turkey day, when plans go wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 87,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25868704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: A small Christmas miracle lead to Steve and Danny finally admitting their feelings and taking their relationship to the next step. By Thanksgiving they've been living together for almost a whole year and they've helped each other through Grace leaving for college.Now they want to share their happiness with the rest of the William's.And it's the perfect opportunity to propose.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Very McDanno Days [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882621
Comments: 34
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I can't guarantee I'll update this one as fast as the last one because its *hot* out and writing is getting harder for it, but I caved and started writing a sequel to my Christmas fic. 
> 
> Enjoy

Storms in Hawaii were to be expected. A tropical paradise comes with it's own set of issues. Of course, Danny had assumed the volcano would be the cause of most of them. Tectonic plates had a habit of causing issues when they rubbed against each other, and this volcano was proof enough of that. Still, this latest storm was worse than even Danny had expected. 

"Well the bad news is we lost the hammock. The good news is we now have a boat," Steve announced.

"Well if we sell that to pay for fixing this place up, it might keep us afloat," Danny said.

Steve beamed. It was a truly terrible joke, but at least they were still making them. Danny hadn't let the bad weather affect his mood like he would have a few years ago. That alone was a blessing. Looking around, the house hadn't been as badly affected as the noise last night led them to believe. 

A large and heavy bookshelf had fallen over, throwing things across the floor as it went. Some of the things on it had fallen with it. It collapsed a table which in turn shattered a fruit bowl. Shards were scattered across the kitchen floor.

Danny was glad to see Eddie curled up on a chair in the living room. He was safely out of the way there, even if he technically wasn't supposed to be on the furniture. Although Danny's smile fell when he stepped forward and felt his foot knock against something on the floor.

A photo from last Christmas which he had had neatly framed had broken. The photo showed Vito dressed as Santa, with Charlie and Grace on his knees and Danny leaning on the back of their chair, with a huge Christmas tree, a lit fireplace and glowing Christmas lights in the background. That had been a high point in a rollercoaster of a holiday.

The frame was in pieces. Charlie's eyes were masked by the cracks. Grace's and Vito’s were cast with rainbows where the new-born sunlight made its way through the broken prism. Danny carefully pulled the printed picture out from the broken pieces and shook it gently to try and clear away any tiny chips left behind. Fortunately, the print hadn't been torn.

Steve stepped over a potted plant that had fallen over and cast soil across the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

"Look on the bright side," Steve said, "the storm's passed now and we have plenty of time to clean up before everyone’s due."

Danny groaned. In the heat of the moment, in the middle of this mess, it had slipped his mind that they were expecting guests. Not just any guests either, they were expecting Danny's family. All of them.

"Why did we agree to this again?" He sighed.

"Because we just loved the chaos of Christmas and we wanted to bring it home with us," Steve smirked. 

Danny rolled his eyes. "I know _why_ this happened Steve. We were drunk."

" _I_ was drunk, you were lonely!" Steve corrected, "Gracie had barely been gone one night and I told you not to phone Clara, I told you you'd regret it-"

"You tell me a lot of things Steve, if I listened to every one of them I'd go goofy," Danny huffed. 

"You’re not far off it now," Steve grinned. 

"Shut up!" Danny huffed.

His eyes twinkled at the way Steve grinned at him. After all their time together he could still make his knees weak.

"We need to clean this place up if people are actually going to stay here."

Steve licked his lips uncertainly, and cleared his throat, "uh, yeah... did we, uh, did we settle on who was staying with us? I mean, I know they're family, but-"

Danny knew where he was going with this and he sighed impatiently, "I told you I have no control over Vito, Steve. If he decides he wants to stay here, he will, and I'd rather have him here than corrupting Eric."

Eric had come into his own of late. With the help of a few friends, Eric had managed to build himself a small photography company on the north shore. Hirsch had let him know about a small studio that he had just finished cleaning out ("there was a shoot out over some drug handover gone wrong, _big_ mess! Maggot's might've fallen through the floorboards, but they'll be flies soon so its fine. The place is going cheap if you want it.") and after that, he had found his feet.

Neither he nor Danny would pretend that Kamekona's financial back up didn’t help though. Although having him and Flippa sitting in on his interviews for a new model to work with may have hindered him in some ways too. Especially since he had been trying to use those interviews to get a date as well as a muse. He was yet to find either, but Kamekona’s was making the most out of his new publicity shots from each interview.

"I am willing to let Eric stay instead of Vito. At least he doesn't snore," Steve said.

Danny snorted. It always amused him when Steve complained about the things that kept him awake. He was able to sleep through bombs on battlefields, but God forbid someone snored.

Steve moved cautiously through the mess. More so than he needed to. His eyes kept scanning the floor like he was searching for something. Danny recognised the movements. He had been through crime scenes with him for years. There was an art to searching for evidence, and Steve seemed to be honing the skill.

"Dyou think you’re gonna find something incriminating?" He smirked. 

Steve glanced up at Danny. There was something in his eyes that wiped away Danny's smile. 

"You do, don't you?"

Steve looked away and sighed. His shoulders ached like the world was still a weight around his neck. All this time and he still found it hard to shift it. Danny moved through the mess towards him. He ran his hands down Steve's arms, even as Steve resisted, and wrapped them around his waist. 

"It's just me Steveo. Nothing you can say will shock me," he urged gently.

Steve exhaled heavily again, and melted against the shorter man. It would never fail to delight him that Danny could take his weight. Even though he was a whole head shorter than him, Danny could bare his troubles with ease. Steve pulled Danny closer to him, and wrapped his arms around Danny's shoulders. He buried his head against his neck as he did. Pinned against his chest, Danny nuzzled against him. His heart warmed at how perfectly they fit together.

"Don't think this means you can get away with not telling me what you’re looking for," Danny warned.

His voice was muffled by the taller man, but his tone was clear. Steve chuckled warmly as he pulled away from him. Even in a mess like this they could find comfort in each other. Steve tilted one of the chairs forward to clear it of rubble, and sat down. 

"It's just... this place is full of secrets Danny. My whole family- my whole _life,_ is full of secrets! I know I'm never going to be able to figure all of them out, and whatever answers I can find are gonna raise more questions, but..."

Steve trailed off, waving a hand as he ran out of words. Danny moved to lean against the kitchen side next to him.

"Anything could be hidden away anywhere and you'd never know until something exposed it," he finished.

Steve hung his head. The doubts he still had, the questions he still craved answers to, they hurt. He could pretend not to care, but Danny knew him better than that.

"Doris helped design this place. There's nooks and crannies everywhere for hiding things away. Some of them even I don't know about," he said.

"And you think something important is hidden in here?" Danny asked. 

Steve shrugged, "Could be. Who knows?"

"If it is, we'll find it. All if it," Danny promised. 

Steve forced a smile and nodded. He had no doubt that if Danny wanted to seek out every secret in this house, he could. Which is why Steve's biggest secret was currently offshore, on the mainland, where it was safe.

"Anyway, you know how nosey my family is, they'll sniff out your secrets," Danny winked.

That was another reason that Steve's secrets were safely on the mainland where no one would be able to find them. Steve suddenly grinned. There was something slightly smug in it. Danny didn't notice.

"You mean how nosey _Clara_ is!" He grinned.

"Ma means well! She just..." Danny raised his eyes to the ceiling as he searched for a nice way to put it.

"Gossips?" Steve offered, knowingly. 

Danny wrinkled his nose. "I was going to say she likes to share, but, yeah."

"She might have her work cut out trying to figure out these secrets," Steve joked.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Danny said.

Clara had a nose for this sort of thing. She was a housewife in New Jersey. All of her friends had cheating partners or lying kids - she spent most of her days acting like a television detective trying to dig up that gossip. Once she sniffed out a secret she was after it like a pig on a truffle. Steve blamed Lou for teaching her too well on her ride along. Danny blamed Steve for telling Lou to take her. Lou steered clear of it.

"If Mary and I couldn't do it-" Steve began. 

"No offence, but I think my mother is scarier than Mary. And a bit more tenacious," Danny argued.

Steve would have argued back - he had a lot to say about Mary's tenaciousness - but Mary was a sweetie in comparison. It was a little harder to find her intimidating when she didn't have Steve backing her up. Clara didn't need back up.

"Sometimes she scares me a little," Steve admitted.

"Join the club," Danny snorted.

"She'd make a great interrogator," Steve said.

Danny just laughed. He knew the fear that his mother could strike into your heart intimately. Even at forty his mother just had to raise an eyebrow and the truth came flowing out of him. Usually. He had been avoiding her calls for a while though. The ones he couldn’t avoid he fobbed off on Charlie or Steve anyway. Had Grace been home from college, she would have gotten the brunt of the pass-the-phone game that seemed to have developed. Each boy was too much of a coward to talk to her.

Most of the time, with anything else, Danny would tell her everything. But Danny had a secret that Clara couldn't know. Because if Clara knew, everyone would know.

And that would ruin _everything._

"What?"

Steve's voice pulled Danny from his thoughts and he blinked at him.

"Hmm?"

"You're smiling. Why?" Steve asked.

Danny hadn't even noticed. The soft smile that had grown across his face was totally non-consensual. If he told the truth it would give away too much, raise too many questions, he couldn't do it. Instead he just shrugged. His hand wandered habitually through Steve's hair as he thought aloud.

"Its just typical of us isn’t it? We've got less than a week before everyone descends on our house for Thanksgiving and the place is in tatters," Danny said.

Steve wound an arm around Danny's hips as he smirked, "If everything went to plan, it wouldn't be our life, right?"

Danny chuckled, but he sighed again as he looked around the room. All the shattered glass and the broken table that splintered wood across the kitchen, it was ridiculous. It was going to take so long to clean this up. Not for the first time Steve seemed to be able to read his mind. 

"Is there any chance we could call Hirsch to clean this up for us?" Steve asked.

"He's not a cleaner, he only does crime scenes," Danny said.

"I'm willing to shoot you if that helps," Steve offered. 

He was looking for the kind of offended gag that always came from Danny in the split second before he realised Steve was joking. When he heard it, Steve beamed.

"You're willing to shoot - Y'know what, go on, do it. Shoot me so I can spend the next two weeks recuperating in a nice clean hospital while you rush around cleaning this place up and dealing with my family alone. Go on - here, use my gun!"

Steve rolled his eyes as Danny hurried off towards the gun safe underneath the bookcase in the living room. They had secured it safely to make sure that it didn't so much as shift in the storm. That was their first priority. Steve watched Danny climb over the book case to get across the room. He leaned in the doorway to watch him open the gun case. Both breathed a sigh of relief to see their weapons still safe.

"And you thought leaving your gun under your bed was safer than this," Danny snorted smugly.

"There's no proof that it isn't!" Steve countered.

"Except leaving an exposed gun out for little hands to find-"

"I would never let Charlie find it."

"Because hiding secrets from kids always works and they never find out anything, right?"

"At least he's grown up enough to know not to play with them. If you and I had another kid-"

"Another kid?" Danny's heart thudded at the idea. The urgency to get away from it trickled into his tone. "Steve, we're already nearly outnumbered, are we're not as young as we were."

"I'm not saying I _want_ another kid Danny, I'm just saying if we had one, we'd have to keep things locked up properly. Not just the guns, everything," Steve said, pointedly. 

Eddie barked. His tongue lolled out over his teeth to give them a toothy grin. Being a sniffer dog, Eddie could and frequently did sniff out secrets. They had to put a baby lock on the cupboard they kept the dog food in just to keep him out.

"If we had a baby, the dog would be a bad influence as well as everyone else," Danny said.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. Danny moved to scratch Eddie's head and he raised his chin to lick at his palm. Danny wiped it on his shirt afterwards. 

"Does that mean we get to be one of those old couples who cant handle an empty nest and replace their children with animals? Do we get to be the crazy cat couple of the street?" Steve asked.

"You're not getting a cat Steven," Danny stated.

"I just don't understand why-"

"You’re _not_ getting a cat Steven!"

Steve pouted sulkily, which made Danny roll his eyes. His smile got away from him. As childish as it was, Danny couldn't help the rush of affection when Steve was goofy. Steve put his hands on his hips.

"What are we going to do then?" He asked.

"Well I'm thinking we need to pick up the bulkier items first. Once the bookcase is out of the way we can actually see what the damage-" Danny began.

"I mean about the future."

Danny paused. He glanced up at Steve. Steve didn't need to be a trained detective to see the alarm in his eyes. The two of them had spent the best part of the last decade devoted to one another, and they avoided talking about the future. Their work made that a dangerous topic. Plus they had only started officially dating last December. It hadn't even been a whole year yet. 

"Huh?" Danny tried to keep the trepidation out of his voice.

Steve shrugged innocently, as if he was only thinking out loud. "Grace's got to college, she's travelling with her friends, Charlie's starting high school soon, he'll start spending more time away from home, away from us... what do we do when its just you and me?"

Danny's stomach churned. He clenched his jaw and swallowed quietly. Steve's eyes traced his anxious movements cautiously. The way Danny side stepped the question sent a chill down his spine. Steve had stepped back into his role at Five-O, but he was faced with a choice in the not too distant future. He could either continue risking his life on the front line, or join Danny in the back seat. Become the man planning the raids instead of leading them. That was the first step towards retirement.

"Charlie isn't going anywhere yet," he said.

"I know that, but, when he does-" Steve began.

"There’s a long time between now and then Steve, lots of things could happen. Lots of things could uh, lot of things could change y'know," Danny shrugged.

"That's what I'm saying Danny. Life is constantly moving on, so where do you think we're moving to?" Steve asked.

Danny's chest felt tighter than he cared to admit.   
"What's this about Steve?" He asked cautiously. 

"I just... I think we should think about our future more. Mary did. She realised what she wanted, and didn’t let anyone hold her back and she adopted Joan. I think we should be more like her," Steve declared. 

Danny froze in place. He stared at Steve as his stomach dropped into his shoes. He watched the back of Steve’s head as he started to sweep up the broken glass. Danny's chest hurt. He had seen the way Steve doted on kids.

The way he had taken Nahele under his wing the moment he discovered that he needed him. The way he huffed at Danny for not putting a sunhat on Joan while they stood in the sunshine. The way he was the first one to volunteer to teach Grace to drive. The way he fought so hard to keep Nahele's real father at a distance until Nahele was comfortable talking to him. The way he turned up to Charlie's baseball games and got into so many arguments with Kamekona that he got kicked out of the park. The way he always called Joan his little cookie monster because it made her giggle. The way he stepped up to scold Grace for drinking underage when even Danny didn’t know.

Steve was a good father to those kids. 

But Danny had already lost too much time with his children, and work was still exhausting him, and he didn't want another child. He hadn't wanted one with Gabby when he was younger than he was now, and he just couldn't handle another baby.  
Just having two had almost exhausted him when Steve left the island. Now if something else happened, if for some reason he had to leave again, he couldn’t have another child without his support. 

"Steve..." Danny said slowly. 

Steve looked up. A cold chill ran down his spine to see the look on Danny's face. There was fear in his eyes. It was a quiet, inward, fear, which chilled Steve's bones. He had seen that look before. In Joe, in Doris, in Catherine - it was a look that said they were hiding something that could hurt.

"I don't want another kid."

The relief that flooded through Steve made his head spin. It almost made him smile. He should have known Danny wasn’t the kind of person who had scary secrets. Not like the ones he was used to. The ones he had. With all of the classified information buried in Steve's mind that could never be shared, he didn’t want any secrets from Danny. Even if it was something as small as not wanting more kids.

"You don’t?"

"I don’t. You know I don’t, I-" Danny began, defensively. 

"Actually I don't know you don't want another kid-" Steve interrupted.

"Uh, yes you do, because I told you. I told you when Mary gave you Joan that I am retired-"

"I don't really know anything that you do or don’t want because you don’t talk to me about it."

It wasn't malicious. Steve was just stating a fact. Ever since the two of them had gotten together they had only had two plans for the future. Help Grace move into her dorm room, and become comfortable enough as a couple that Steve could leave the Hilton and move back in. It was, after all, his house Danny was living in.

Now Grace was gone, and she had made enough friends to trust them enough to go on vacation with them, and she was happy. Steve had moved into the house and their separate rooms had become a shared bed, and they were happy.

Steve just wanted to know what was next.

"It's hard to plan for a future when any attempts to always fail," Danny said.

Steve frowned. "Attempts? What attempts?"

"What attempts?" Danny repeated sarcastically, "what attem- oh I don’t know, maybe trying to get married, or trying to open a business, maybe a restaurant with the man I love-"

"So the restaurant failed, it happens! You gotta get over it man. If you let that stop you planning your future-" Steve began. 

Danny cut him off with, "I've give up planning anything I can't control. I'll plan the ops at work, I'll do my best to calculate every potential reaction-"

"And you’re good at your job! You're the protector, you always have been. There's plenty of people who need protecting-"

"I'm serious Steve. I don't want another kid."

Danny said it so firmly and so plainly that Steve's words died on his tongue. Steve hadn't really considered the two of them having their own child. It had crossed his mind, but he hadn't thought about it. Having a baby... tiny little fingers, tiny little toes... a small bundle of love that was helpless and frail and needed him for survival But Steve was getting old. Babies became children. His life was still dangerous - even outside of the navy and Five-O. He had enemies. Storms raged on Hawaii and destroyed homes, they were currently standing in proof of that.

Steve would have loved a child of his own, but babies were demanding. He already had Grace and Charlie. They were enough. 

"I already have two to pay for, to give my love and time to, I don’t really have any left to spare. You said we were enough for you. You haven't changed your mind right?" Danny asked cautiously. 

"No. No, no, no," Steve insisted, "Charlie's a handful, but he’s the best handful in the world, and Gracie's college tuition is much more than I expected- not that I'm not okay with paying it! Or paying for her to go travelling, lord knows-"

"When you were her age you’d been all over the world and no one could know, I remember. Get to the point Steve," Danny huffed. 

Danny knew Steve's argument by heart because it was the one thing he had clung to when Grace said she wanted to travel with her friends instead of spending the week with them. Steve wanted her to travel. He wanted her to see the world and have fun and enjoy her life. Danny had taken a little more convincing, and a solemn promise that she would be home for Thanksgiving.

That was very important to Danny.

teve sighed. There was no point keeping things from Danny, and he really didn’t want to. It had been playing in his head for a while now, but that storm had reminded him of how easily a calm situation can change. How dangerous that could be. He knew better than most. 

"They asked me to update my life insurance policy at work, and the payees are still Mary and Joan. I was just thinking," Steve shrugged, he was hesitant to say, "since we're essentially married-"

Danny blinked. Danny's eyes widened and he straightened his back in surprise.

"You want to make me the payee for your life insurance?"

Obviously he knew that Steve was mortal - knew it more than Steve did sometimes - but the man had pulled himself out of worse. Steve had been beaten, tortured, shot, stabbed, and more that Danny knew about. He could never know what happened on all those confidential missions, but they couldn't be good. Still, every time, every single time, Steve made it out alive.

The idea that one day he wouldn't smacked Danny hard against his chest.

"I don't have anyone but you and Mary. You deserve to get something if something were to happen to me," Steve said.

He spoke with such a blasé attitude that it was as if he couldn't see what it had done to Danny. The ice cold terror that he had filled him with. Especially now, when they were standing in the aftermath of a heavy storm. 

"But nothing is going to happen to you, is it?" Danny warned darkly, "Because you're too well trained. And because you’re taking a step back to help train up Tani, right? So you won't be putting yourself into the line of danger anymore, will you?"

Steve blinked at him, clearly surprised by how defensive he had suddenly become. He threw an arm out to gesture towards the room around them.

"Danny look around you! It's not just work that makes this place dangerous. I'm not saying anything is going to happen, I'm just saying if it does, I'd like to know you’re looked after."

Danny's heart throbbed as his chest ached again. He looked down at the photo in his hand. Charlie and Grace smiled back at him. Danny had loved this photo for the simple fact that it was just the three of them. Well, excluding Vito, who was technically not in it, Santa was. But it was just the three of them. Because back then, he thought that they were all he needed. That he was all they would need too.   
Steve wasn't included.   
And now he was here, offering Danny everything he had. Literally. He was offering Danny enough commitment to give him _everything_ he owned if something happened to him. It was terrifying. 

"That's cute," he muttered.

"That’s not an answer," Steve said.

"I didn’t realise it was a question," Danny said.

He raised his head to look back at Steve and held back as much of his turmoil as he could. He had enough practice in that at work. Steve searched his expression for some kind of clue. Some sign as to what Danny was thinking. If he was thinking. Steve came up empty.

"I'm asking if its okay for me to put you down as a payee. If you've got any objections-"

"I have an objection to you dying, for starters," Danny interrupted. 

Steve sighed. He knew Danny liked to dodge big topics, and usually Steve would let him, but this needed to be said. They needed to be heard. Preferably before everyone came back for Thanksgiving. 

"We have to think about these things Danny-" he began.

"Uh, no we don’t, why would we?" Danny countered defensively. 

"Well for starters if I die this house and everything in it goes to Mary," Steve stated.

Danny frowned. "But I've lived here for two years. I have rights, I have squatters rights-"

"Would you really want to have this argument with Mary after I die?" Steve asked, "Do you think you can afford a mortgage on this place after both Grace _and_ Charlie need money for college?"

Danny glared at him. "You're a killjoy, y’know that?"

"A killjoy? Because I think a dangerous storm that broke our house is a sign that we should think about the future?"

"Yes. You know I hate thinking about the future, whatever I plan goes wrong every time!"

"I just think we should be responsible-"

"You buried your share of our restaurant in the back yard, and lost a chunk of it to Eddie sniffing out bones Steve! Who does that?! You are not the responsible one when it comes to money!"

"Exactly! I need to make sure you're looked out for, and I can't guarantee I'll be able to do that unless-"

"Yes, fine, you can put me down as whatever okay?! Just stop talking about, it now!" Danny snapped.

"Alright, alright!" Steve threw his hands up in surrender. His voice eased as Danny let go of the defensive breath in his throat. "I’m just asking you to think about things, alright? We should talk about them, so we're always prepared."

Being prepared for the legal issues after someone’s death was something both Steve and Danny were painfully used to. Danny was used to paperwork. Although the added bonus of the police hounding his grieving family after Matthew's death gave the whole system a new light.

As for Steve, well. For all the deaths he had lived through, he had never had to plan a funeral. All of them were handled by official offices, or people who were just trying to help. Even his own father's funeral was planned, prepared and executed under someone else’s orders. Maybe that wasn't the right word...   
Either way, chasing down the money that should have been left to him after John passed had been hard. Not as hard as trying to get any access to Matthew's of course, but that was exactly Steve's point.

It was easier to be clear about what they wanted now, before they couldn’t have their say at all.  
Steve glanced over at Danny as he sulkily collected the books off of the floor. He sighed. He didn't like it when Danny was quiet. It didn't suit him. Steve moved across the room and picked his way over to Danny. From behind him, he slid his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. Steve rested his head on Danny's shoulder and nuzzled gently at the familiar crook of his neck.

"I didn’t mean to upset you," he muttered.

Danny shrugged, sulkily, but didn't try to fight against Steve's hug. "I know."

"I'm sorry," Steve muttered.

"It's fine... it's just... if you're already thinking about leaving me behind-"

"I am not about to leave."

Danny winced at his tone. After Steve had left Hawaii he left a hole in Danny's life. When he came back, accusations went flying. Things were said. People got hurt. Danny didn't mean to stir things up again, and Steve was so quick to insist. 

"I didn’t think you were, I just meant..." Danny took a deep breath. He turned in Steve's arms to face him. "What happens if I go first? To you, to the kids? What happens to them, if I die before you?" 

Steve pursed his lips to think for a moment. He suddenly understood why Danny had been so defensive again. It was easy for Steve to consider his own death - he'd faced it down countless times by now, the preparations had been forming in his mind for decades - but to consider life without Danny was horrendous. He definitely didn't want to think about that any longer than he had to. 

"I can promise you two things Danno. If, somehow, I end up dying after you, I will always make sure that Grace and Charlie are looked out for, okay? Me and Rachel, we'll team up to make sure they're looked after. You don’t have to worry about that."

A soft smile escaped Danny's lips as he felt the anxiety in his gut ease off. Obviously his first priority was always going to be his kids, but knowing that Steve was prepared to work with Rachel to look after them helped ease that worry somehow. The two of them had always gotten along just fine, but it had been touchy here and there. A certain level of jealously and protectiveness tinged their relationship. Of course with Danny gone they wouldn't have anything to fight over. They'd probably find comfort in each other.

Whatever happened between them, it was good to know that, no matter what, his kids would always have at least two parents who were there for them. Then he paused as his mind recalled Steve's words.

"And the other thing?" He asked. 

A flicker of mischief lit up Steve's eyes. "if you go first, I’m getting a cat!" 


	2. Chapter 2

Weather issues caused trouble which could be - and often was - used to distract emergency services from additional crimes. As such, everyone was meant to be on duty to help clean up. Kono and Steve teamed up on this one. There was a downed power line close to the manhole they had used to break into break into an evidence locker once. Even though that was a whole decade ago now, they felt like defending that area was a good way to start making amends. Which left Junior, Tani and Danny in the palace alone, waiting for orders.

Danny was quietly plotting courses between some of the worst affected areas to ensure vehicle access wasn't affected if they did catch a case. Junior and Tani shared a look when he muttered something about checking out a jewellery store he happened to pass on the map. The two of them had been engaged for a while now, and hunting down the perfect ring in jewellery stores was proving difficult. More of them than you'd think for an island as small as O'ahu, were actually just fronts for various criminal activities. 

This one happened to be a drug ring, which Danny had helped them take down. He seemed to have forgotten that.

"You okay boss?" Tani asked.

Danny glanced up. His mouth was slacked, like he had forgotten he wasn't alone. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Right. Because nothing says I'm fine like having to ask what was said because you’re not listening," Tani smirked. 

"I'm always listening Tani, even when it doesn’t look like it. Y'see when you’re a beat cop, you have to listen to everything going on, even though the street is noisy, so you can hear anything that can help you out. You'd know that if you walked the beat for more than a day," Danny said plainly.

Tani reeled back in offence. Junior took a step back. He had seen Tani taze people for less. Fortunately for both of them Tani was a good friend. She knew when to lash out, and when to just be sharper. She had learned it the hard way, but she had learned it.

"Aright, since I know it's your first Thanksgiving with Steve so you’re stressed, I'm going to let that slide, but I'm gonna ask again, and this time, you're gonna cut the crap and tell me what's going on, okay?"

Danny stared her down. The two of them locked eyes like stags locking antlers. Tani placed a hand on her hip, to challenge him. Junior took another step back, just in case.

"You're really gonna talk to me like that? I’m your boss Tani," Danny reminded her.

"Uh huh, so you okay, _boss?"_ Tani countered.

The tension hung between the two of them for a moment, before Danny conceded with a sigh. 

"Okay, alright. You’re right, I was way out of line, I apologise," he said. 

Tani gave a smugly satisfied smirk, and let her hand fall from her hip. She edged closer to him. "What’s going on? Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," he muttered.

"You once told me that stress is what causes distractions and can cost lives on an op," Tani said.

Danny frowned. "I did? That doesn't sound like me?"

"To be fair sir, you did make us go to an intervention because you said commander McGarrett was too stressed for his health. Maybe it would help to open up," Junior said.

Danny eyed the two of them carefully. Both of them had been engaged for months now and had yet to even start planning their wedding. The only thing they had settled on was that Quinn would be the bridesmaid and Steve was the best man. Neither of them were really romantics, despite Junior's attempts, but in his heart of hearts, neither was Danny. And if they could work it out, maybe they could help him out.

"If I tell you two something it cannot - repeat _not_ get back to Steve, dyou understand?" He warned. 

"Oh my god! You’re pregnant! Are you sure Steve the father?!" Tani gasped dramatically. 

Junior snorted at how bright her grin was. The humour in her eyes lit up her entire face and melted Junior's insides. Danny tried to bite back a laugh. It really was like entertaining bored children on quiet days like this.

"Hilarious. Do you promise or not?" He asked.

"Yeah man, obviously, we won't tell McGarrett anything," Tani nodded eagerly.

"Uh oh, it's not the first time I've heard her say that," Adam chuckled as he pushed the door open.

The others cheered slightly to welcome him. The informality of it made him smile. It was almost as if this wasn't an emergency situation for a moment or two. He joined them where they circled the computer table.

"What’s going on?" He asked.

"Well-" Tani began.

Danny interrupted as calmly as he could so Adam wouldn't catch onto anything suspicious. He needed as few people to know as possible so he could chicken out if he needed to.

"Nothing Adam, what’s going on with you? You’re not working today, why are you here?"

"For the excellent coffee, obviously," Adam smirked. 

Junior instantly leapt to attention and marched off to fetch Adam some coffee. Sometimes sarcasm flew over his head, and his naval training barked at him. Tani sucked in her lips as she watched him go. As much as she loved him, and she really, really did, she couldn't help pitying his odd naivety sometimes. Junior presented Adam with the usual horrible office coffee, and a bright grin like a toddler looking for praise.

Reluctantly Adam took it, and smiled, "thanks brother."

"So, um, apart from the coffee, how can we help you today?" Tani asked eagerly.

Despite the obvious dangers that came with it, she had grown to enjoy working with Adam on his chosen cases. They were always marred by distrust and confusion and endless questions that a little communication could easily avoid. They were a lot more demanding and endlessly more intriguing than a run of the mill storm evacuation system. This stuff was standard procedure. Who knew what twists Adam's case would bring? 

"Oh, no, its not like that. Kono forgot her apartment keys, I keep a spare in the office," Adam explained.

Tani's shoulders sagged in disappointment. But there was still one unsolved case in the room. She perked up as her attention returned to Danny.

"You were saying?" She pried, eagerly. 

Danny shot her a look that he had often given Grace as a child. It was a short, silent warning that she was pushing the limit. That caught Adam's interest too.

"What's uh, what's going on Danny?" He asked, suspiciously. 

"Nothing," Danny lied.

All three of his co-workers scoffed. They had been friends with him far too long for him to be able to lie and get away with it like that. Begrudgingly, Danny released he would have to confess his secret if he didn't want them to pry into it themselves and risk Steve finding out too.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I... am thinking... of maybe - just, just maybe... asking Steve, if he might want to uh, to- to marry... me."

Danny bit his lip and waited for their reactions. Instantly Adam lit up in delight for his friend, but it took him by surprise. Junior was less thrilled - this took the thunder out of his engagement after all - but he looked pleased for them anyway. Tani though, Tani just froze. For a full three seconds she looked like she was just buffering. And then-

"WHAT?!"

The cry was full of delight and ridicule and pride. Danny wasn't sure if he should be glad over her enthusiasm or concerned by it.

"What happened to Mr Don't-Get-Married-It's-A-Trap-Throw-Your-Money-In-The-Garbage-Disposal-It's-Quicker?!" She beamed accusingly. 

"I hope Steve doesn't want to hyphenate that," Adam joked.

Danny groaned loudly and covered his eyes as he did. He had said a lot about marriage over the years, especially to his friends who were now either engaged or married, and now it was all going to come back to bite him. He was dreading that.

"I _know,_ I know, I know!" He groaned. Then he dropped his hands away to his face, "Oh I'm not going to do it, not - not yet, because I think something's up with Steve."

Adam frowned. "Why?"

"He's being secretive. He keeps talking about his mom and Mary and his family - I'm worried about him. Last time he started over thinking about family he ran away," Danny said.

"You think he's getting cold feet?" Junior asked.

Junior sounded surprised. He had never known Steve to doubt anything. Once he had a plan he tended to dive into it, neck deep, regardless of the potential consequences. It was one of the things Junior admired about him so much. When Steve gave, he gave his all.

"How could he have cold feet when I haven’t even asked him yet?" Danny asked.

"Then do _you_ have cold feet?" Tani asked.

"Me? No. Not about this," Danny shook his head.

Danny was reluctant or hesitant about many things in his life - he doubted almost every decision he ever made - but this he was certain of. This he wanted.

"Then what's wrong? I mean, you two are already practically married, right? What makes you think he wont say yes?" Junior asked.

"It's not that, it's more..." Danny ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Steve's talking about loyalty and dedication. I think he knows somethings up."

"How?" Adam asked.

"I don’t know. He's an excellent detective. Smart. Resourceful. He could find a way, some kind of uh, some kind of surveillance tap or something. We've had to investigate a lot of jewellers recently, maybe he found footage of me in one or something, I don’t know," Danny insisted.

The paranoia was not a new thing, but it had been a long time since they had seen Danny so worked up about something. Between the three of them, they shared a small, concerned look.

"Who else have you told about this?" Adam asked.

"You lot are the first people I've told," Danny shrugged.

"Then you don’t have anyone to sound off with? So you don't hear what you’re thinking out loud, you’re just letting it gnaw at you? That sounds healthy," Tani said sarcastically. 

"What are you thinking Danny?" Junior asked. 

Danny's heart heaved as the thought rolled up to him again. He didn't give it any space to voice itself, it just lingered like a fog around the rest of his thoughts.

"I don’t want to say it."

"If you don’t say it you won't hear how stupid it sounds. Do you want me to say it?" Tani offered.

"No... no," Danny shook his head.

"Go on then," Junior urged.

Junior, Tani and Adam watched him, expectantly. Danny groaned. He hated thinking about it, so saying the words felt like they were being dragged out of his throat like hair from a drain.

"I'm worried that uh... that Steve somehow found out I was going to propose and... and got worried about being trapped... I'm worried he doesn't think he can commit, or that this is too much of a leap too early in our relationship-"

"Ten years in?" Adam scoffed.

"We've only been _dating_ for eleven months," Danny argued.

"Technically maybe, but we all know you've been dedicated to each other for years now. No matter what else is at risk, no matter what consequences, you always pick each other," Adam said.

"Has he ever given you a reason to think he would leave again?" Junior asked.

"No... he actually unpacked his go bag when he couldn’t be bothered to do laundry."

Danny smiled wistfully at the memory. It hadn't been a huge event, they hadn't even marked it, but that made it that much bigger in Danny's mind. Steve had run out of clean clothes and when Danny offered to let him borrow his he just shrugged and said he'd find one. Then he came down in a shirt Danny had never seen before. From his go-back. Steve had shrugged with the explanation ("I like this shirt. I should wear it more anyway, and now I don’t have to do laundry!") like it wasn't a big deal, but they all knew he hadn't lived without a go back under his bed since he was sixteen. He even had one under his desk at work, just in case. 

Unpacking it for Danny was a big deal.

Tani, being an army brat, Junior, being a SEAL, and Adam, having been on the run, were all aware of the constant, faint, lingering fear that came with having to constantly be ready to go at the drop of a hat. All of them knew of the psychological comfort that having a go bag provided. A quiet safety at the back of their mind.

So all of them were shocked to hear that Steve had given up his.

"Wow. That shouldn't be so romantic," Tani said.

"But it really is," Adam smiled.

Danny's soft smile eased his beating heart. He looked up at Adam. Being the only other one there that was, one, close to his age, and two, divorced, Danny looked to him for reassurance before the other two.

"I’m being crazy aren’t I?" He asked.

"Yes, but it's understandable." Adam nodded 

"It is?" Danny asked in surprise. 

"Of course. How many marriages have you witnessed in your lifetime Danny?" Adam added. 

"I don’t know, a million?"

It had certainly felt endless when they were younger. Right around the time that pregnancy rates shot up, marriage rates seemed to follow. Back in Jersey Danny was almost constantly attending weddings and pretending not to notice the already showing baby bump behind the wedding dress. He hadn't thought about any of them since.

"And how many of those couples are still together?" Adam asked.

Danny hummed thoughtfully, "My parents. Even they went through a rough patch."

"Right, so you're just worrying that taking that next step is a mistake. That once you take it, things will go wrong and lead to you splitting up-" Tani began.

"You aren’t being reassuring," Danny interrupted. 

"I’m building to something-" Tani assured him.

"Don’t, just tell me," Danny said plainly.

Tani shifted her weight onto her other leg, quietly looking disappointed as she did. "Fine. I think you should talk to Chin Ho Kelly. Everyone says he's got the strongest relationship they've seen."

"Oh he does," Adam nodded.

He and Kono were going to visit her cousin and his new wife for Thanksgiving. It would be the first time since Kono closed the trafficking ring case that they saw Chin in person. Despite the rocky start, the two of them had found enough common ground for Adam to be looking forward to it.

"Or you could ask Grover," Junior suggested.

"Grover is not to be disturbed over the holidays. He’s in Vegas and we're not allowed to distract him from his game," Tani repeated the mantra he had drilled into them obediently. 

"I thought he was leaving after the family thanksgiving game thing," Adam said.

"He caught an early flight to avoid the storm," Junior explained. 

"Smart move. Air control says it's still too dangerous to fly," Tani added.

"Then let's try and make it safe to drive shall we? After all some families should be able to get together for Thanksgiving, even if ours can't," Danny declared. 

At his orders, the others fell back to their previous tasks and pretended they had heard nothing about any upcoming engagements. Except for Adam. After collecting the keys from his desk, Adam slipped to Danny's side so the two of them could talk alone.

"So seriously? You’re going to marry Steve?" He asked keeping his voice low.

"Uh, yeah, hopefully. If he says yes," Danny nodded. 

"After everything you've said? After what you told me about being married to Rachel?" Adam asked, "I remember those talks we had after Kono and I split up. You were still hurt Danny. Are you sure you’re ready for this?"

Danny tried not to show the way he paused at Adam's reminder, but he had been about to tap the screen again and his hesitation to do so gave him away. Danny remembered the conversations he and Adam had shared in the middle of the night over a beer on the floor of Adam's living room. Slightly drunk and utterly exhausted, Danny's memories were hazy, but he knew what they had been talking _about_ and that was enough to concern him. 

"You said you didn't think you could trust someone enough to let them into your life like that again. That you never thought you'd remarry. "At the end of the day it's just a piece of paper, who cares?" That’s what you said. Didn't you mean it?"

Danny gulped. His hands suddenly felt clammy again. "I did, I meant it, and I still do, I mean..."

Danny let out a long sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. An anxious tick he had never been able to control. Adam watched him, waiting for an explanation. Danny wasn't certain there was one.

"Rachel hurt me for sure. She hurt the whole family. And it's taken me a long time to think I could love like that again, and honestly I can't. Because this isn't like that. This is _better._ We had a stronger starting point, we were friends first. I love Steve. I want to marry him. I really do."

Adam eyed his friend cautiously as he tried to decide if he meant it or not. Then a smile broke across his face. Danny's eyes were earnest, and he meant what he said. That was enough for Adam.

"Then I'm happy for you man. I hope it works out for the best," he grinned. 

Knowing that Adam had known them fairly intimately for longest time, and what they had been through to get where they were, and approved of the next step too, eased most of the concerns Danny had developed instantly. As long as someone else in a similar boat agreed with him, he was delighted. 

"Thanks Adam, that means a lot," he smiled. 

Adam grinned again. He clapped Danny's shoulder proudly, and declared Kono wouldn’t like waiting so he couldn't hang around. Danny watched him go, and smiled to himself.

If you had told him, all those years ago, that Adam Noshimuri, son of the head of the yakuza, would be the one encouraging him to head down the aisle, Danny would have thrown you in the drunk tank for the night to sleep it off.

Then again if you had told him that he would fall in love with the arrogant idiot of a naval SEAL that he punched in the face to the point of actually _wanting_ to marry again, he would have had you certified as insane instead. 

What a topsy-turvy world they lived in.


	3. Chapter 3

Something Steve had grown to adore in the last few months was the school run. Specifically the pick up. While mornings were like a miniature mission every time, always rushed, always organized the night before for maximum efficiency, pick up wasn't time sensitive. From the moment Charlie raced down those steps and threw his arms around Steve, their work was over and the fun could begin. Usually.

Today was going to be a little different. 

Steve glanced at Charlie in the rear-view mirror as he stared idly out of the window, singing along to some pop song on the radio. Danny usually blasted Bon Jovi when they were driving together, so when Steve played the cheesy pop songs Charlie loved so much, Danny wasn't impressed. Much. He couldn’t help being pleased at how easily his boyfriend could connect with his kids. If he hadn't, this could never have worked out. But that's off topic.

"So Charlie. Good day at school?" Steve asked breezily.

It was ridiculous how hard his heart was beating at the moment. The nerves knotted his stomach as he glanced at the boy again. Charlie did not notice. 

"Yeah, we learned about what makes storms happen and how to make sure you're safe if a really bad one hits," Charlie explained.

As he spoke they happened to be passing by a patch of land that once held a house, but now had two halves of a house and a tree down the middle. There was a reason storm safety was at the top of the syllabus. 

"That's good. So next time we hear a storm warning we'll get you to make the house safe, huh buddy?" Steve said.

"Um, I don't think I need to because Danno has a plan for everything," he said.

Steve let slip a smirk as he remembered those nuclear threat drills they had been forced to run as part of the safety management routines. Danny's plan was to find his kids and die as a family. Of course that had been infuriating back then, but the more Steve thought about it, the more appealing dying instantly together felt. At least it was better than being locked up and trying to repopulate.

Not for nothing, but Steve didn't want to share Danny, and he was fairly certain Danny wouldn't want to share him like that either. At the thought of Danny with someone else Steve felt his stomach heave. An overly protective urgency jolted through him. He felt the need to phone and check in, but he was driving and Danny was at work.

"Hey can you grab my phone buddy? Just text Danno and ask him when he's coming home for me would ya?"

Charlie could barely reach Steve’s phone from the front seat, but he did as he was told. As it turned out Danny wasn't due home for two hours anyway. It eased the knot in Steve's chest just to know he had replied. 

It wasn't that Steve actually thought Danny would do anything like that to him - hell, after the fuss he'd put up about Catherine working with her ex and him not wanting to see Steve get hurt, he didn't think Danny would even look at another man now they were together - but trust was something that didn't come easy to Steve. Everyone else had left him with little more than lies and hollow truths. It took a lot to push past that, and sometimes old habits flared up.

But he did trust Danny. With his life and with his heart. Which is why today's pick up was so important.

"You hungry Charlie?" Steve asked as he unlocked the door.

"Eddie!" Charlie cried instead. 

Eddie came hurrying out as fast as his old legs could carry him, head butting past Steve to reach Charlie. Steve rolled his eyes. Eddie may have been loyal to Steve and Danny, but he loved Charlie. Since Grace left, Charlie was the only one who slipped him treats. With her gone and Steve back to their usual exercise routine, Eddie had lost some of the weight he put on while Steve was off travelling. Steve might have been pleased about that but Eddie was old and retired. He had every right to be lazy.

Charlie ran into the house and tossed his school bag to the side as he went. 

"Where does that go Charlie?" Steve asked, pointedly. 

Charlie huffed like asking him to pick up his bag was a huge chore. He made a show of stooping low to scoop it up and set it out of the way by the door so they'd know where it was next time they needed it. Steve chuckled as he watched the kid dash into the kitchen to raid the cupboard.

The family had settled so easily into the house together that Steve sometimes found it hard to remember life before them. Before, when it was big and quiet and only him inside. Back when it was haunted by his life before the navy. Haunted by his family memories, tainted by lies. Steve hadn't even noticed that his house didn't feel like a home until he felt it like this. Full of life. Full of joy. Full of love.  
Ah. Love. Which brought Steve back to his plan, and brought back the nerves that came with it.

"Hey Charlie, can you come here a minute? I want to talk to you," Steve called.

He did his best to keep the tremor out of his voice, but the knot in his stomach was slowly rising through his chest towards his throat and making him feel sick. Charlie edged cautiously back into the room. He lingered by the kitchen door, visibly concerned. Steve flashed him a smile.

"Come sit on the couch with me. It's alright," he urged gently.

Charlie reluctantly set aside the jar of peanut butter he had been clinging to, and shuffled towards the couch. Steve patted it, encouragingly. Charlie frowned at the empty seat beside him, and then up at him, and back. Hesitantly, he took the seat. Steve took a deep but shaky breath.

"Charlie, I need to talk to you about something serious."

"I didn’t do it!" Charlie blurted out urgently. 

"No you’re not-" Steve paused, "Didn’t do what?"

"I... don’t... know," Charlie said slowly, "But it wasn’t me. Whatever it is."

Steve shifted back on the couch to eye the child suspiciously. Charlie avoided his gaze.

"Did you do something you’re not supposed to Charlie?" Steve asked.

Charlie buried his hands in his lap and shrugged, "... no?"

"Charles?" Steve repeated warningly.

The panic in his chest at being full named made the confession spill out of Charlie at high speed. "I used up all the bubble bath when I was washing Eddie and the bubbles went everywhere and they filled the whole garden and Eddie saw the hose so he ran away and I couldn't find him in all the bubbles and I panicked and Uncle Adam had to clean it up while Uncle Junior helped me find Eddie and he was under the bed and we couldn’t get him to come out so Uncle Adam bribed him out with treats and then Danno came home and it was too late, so Eddie didn’t have a bath like I said he did!"

Charlie gasped for breath as he finished. Steve blinked in surprise. This conversation had already taken a different path to the one he had anticipated. 

"We don’t have bubble bath. We don't have a bath," Steve said.

"It was Mom's bubble bath. I thought it would stop Eddie being afraid. I was wrong," Charlie muttered.

"Well... well it was a nice idea buddy. And we had no idea, so uncle Adam did a good job cleaning it up," Steve shrugged.

Charlie blinked up at him in surprise. "You didn’t know?"

The surprise that lit up his bright blue eyes amused Steve. Charlie had sold himself down the river without realising. He was adorable. 

"No. And next time, you don’t have to tell the full story, just the outcome," Steve advised. 

"Huh?"

"When I asked what happened, you could have just said you didn’t wash the dog - you know what, it's not important."

"So am I in trouble?" 

"No, you're not in trouble buddy, I just want to talk to you about something."

"Okay?"

Charlie sounded just as confused as he had earlier. Steve shifted nervously in his chair, taking a deep breath as he did.

"Um, okay... uh... so... you know how Danno and your Mom used to be married?" 

Charlie shrugged. He was vaguely aware of that fact, but it held no bar on his day to day life so he didn't really think about it ever.

"Yeah?"

"And then your mom married Stan?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you feel..." Steve shifted again. 

He had no idea why he was so nervous. Charlie had practically leapt at the chance when Danny asked him if it was okay for Steve to move in and this wasn’t that much more of a step. Charlie didn't even understand weddings really, the only ones he ever saw were in movies. They always ended with a happily ever after. He didn't know first hand what they could lead to.

Not like Grace.

Asking her if she was okay with this had made him feel physically sick. He'd even gone all the way to her dorm room to take her out to get shave ice and walk on the beach like they had when she was a kid. When he hadn't touched his food, Grace knew it was serious. She didn't like serious anymore. It never ended happily. The utter joy of hearing what it actually was was outstanding. 

"How would you feel, if your Danno got married again?" Steve asked.

Once again Charlie's eyes widened in surprise, but that vanished as he blinked. He straightened his mouth as he thought about it.

"Um... I don't know..." he muttered finally.

Steve's heart thumped hard. "You don't know?"

That was not the answer he was expecting either. It churned his stomach anxiously. He wasn't really sure what he had been expecting from Charlie's reaction, but he was at least expecting a reaction. Not this. 

It had never felt comfortable to talk about his feelings, but Steve had learned to force himself to try. It was better, he thought. Especially for Charlie. Steve didn't want him to grow up like he did, fearing vulnerability to the extent he might abandon something he had always enjoyed because of that fear. So as uncomfortable as it felt to do, Steve laid an arm around the back of the couch behind Charlie. 

"What are you thinking buddy?" Steve asked.

"What's the point of marriage?" Charlie asked.

Steve tilted his head. "How’d you mean?"

"If Mom and Danno stopped being married, and Mom and Stan stopped being married, what’s the point of being married at all? It's going to stop eventually, why do it?" 

"Uh..."

It was a question Steve had yet to linger on. Of course he had thought about it - their relationship was solid at the moment, he didn’t want to overstep that. But he also wanted to show Danny that he loved him and he trusted him. That he was committed. That nothing was more important to him than this family.

That he was all in.

That, however, is a difficult thing to explain to a child.

"Well, uh, it's important to um... because... um... well... that’s a big question kiddo. Marriage is important when you're a grown up for a lot of different reasons."

"Like what?" Charlie asked.

"Well, like... if I died - and I’m not going to, but if I did, and I wasn't married to Danno, then this house would go to my sister, because she's the next in line. But if I was married to Danno, he would be next in line and it would go to him. And everything else would go to him. Like, uh, like my money. And my car-"

"But Danno already has a car."

"I'm not explaining this right..." Steve sighed. He sat forward on the edge of the seat as he tried to find some kind of clearer explanation. "Y'see Charlie, getting married-"

The front door slammed open, causing both of them to jump and Steve's hand to fly to his empty holster. 

"Who's getting married?!" Eric shouted as he breezed in.

"Shh! Shut the door!" Steve hissed.

Eric snorted but shut the door behind him. Steve's gaze moved towards the gun case by the book case. While he understood and accepted Danny's decision that all weapons and bullets were to be kept under lock and key, every time he realised his gun wasn’t in his holster, it panicked him all over again.   
Steve had been in constant reach of a gun endlessly since he was sixteen. Adjusting to not having it there at all times was harder than he'd care to admit.

"Who’s getting married?" Eric repeated.

Steve glared at him. This is was not the way he expected people to find out about his plans.

"No one's getting married yet-" he began.

"You’re getting married?! To who?! To Danny?!" Eric gasps.

"No to Jerry! Of course to Danny! Who else would I marry?!" Steve huffed.

"Is it really happening, have you asked him yet? Can I be the best man?" Eric grinned. 

With Eric overly keen and Charlie still confused, Steve found himself slightly flustered. Eric snorted to see that. The man could look a Russian submarine commander in the eye after invading his vessel and not blink, but ask him about matters of the heart and he was a mess.

"I don- yes- no- I - look, I haven’t asked him yet! I’m asking Charlie first!"

"Why?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, why?" Eric repeated. 

"Because... well because it matters what you think," Steve said firmly.

Charlie tilted his head. "It does?"

It hadn’t last night when he wanted shave ice for dinner.

"Of course it does," Steve insisted. "If I marry Danno that means there'll be a wedding. I'll be his husband. You'll be Charlie Williams-McGarrett. Maybe. Unless you don't want to. But Danno would be a McGarrett too, if we got married-"

"No, Danny's a Williams. Maybe you'd be a Williams too, but Danny'll never be a McGarrett," Eric corrected. 

Steve shot him a dark look for interrupting, but he couldn't argue his point. Being a McGarrett brought danger with it. It rarely ended happily, and was usually swamped with lies pretending to be protection in the middle. The Williams hadn't lost nearly as many people as the McGarrett's because their lies were riddled with guilt so everything came to light eventually. Usually. And usually forgiveness followed. Honestly, Steve would have rather been a Williams.

"The point is, a lot of things might change. And I'll be your step dad afterwards. For real. And you'll be my son. Do you understand?" Steve asked cautiously. 

"Oh..." Charlie said slowly. 

He frowned hard as his head dipped back down. He fell quiet as he fell into thought. Steve's heart thumped. His jaw clenched nervously. He wasn't certain how Charlie was going to react and that made him uncomfortable. Steve glanced up at Eric. There was a vague desire for support from the younger man that Eric recognised instantly. That made him feel slightly smug. Eric gave him a small nod of encouragement. 

"Is that, uh... is that okay with you?" Steve asked Charlie, nervously again.

"Um..." Charlie muttered.

Nothing followed. Charlie just looked confused. Eric knelt down to his side and grinned at him.

"Think about it like this Charlie, instead of having a mom and a dad like everyone else, you'll have two dads and a mom. Everyone else will be so jealous!" He said.

Charlie blinked at him. "They will?"

"Yeah!" Eric grinned, "I will be too. You get to have two dads who really love you, and I don’t even have one. You're really lucky."

Steve frowned to himself. He knew the pain of losing your parents, but at least he had known them. Both of them. Even if they had let him down time and time again, Steve had known them, loved them, and mourned them.

Eric never even got that chance.

"Eric-" Steve began, quietly.

Eric brushed him off with a stubborn hush, "Shh, I'm talking to Charlie. Charlie, you've seen those movies Grace likes to watch haven’t you? The ones about love and romance?"

"Yeah, but, they're really boring. They always end up kissing. Sometimes they have weddings too, but they’re never cool weddings like the one in Wreck-It- Ralph," Charlie complained.

Eric glanced up at Steve for clarification. Steve could offer none. He hadn't seen the movie.

"Wreck-it-Ralph?" Eric repeated. 

Charlie nodded eagerly, "Yeah! Her wedding ends with her husband being eaten by a robot bug! Then at her second wedding, they have loads and loads of guns to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Awesome."

Steve blinked in surprise, "And that’s a kids movie?"

"Uh huh," Charlie nodded.

"Huh..." 

Steve was beginning to wonder if he should try harder to stay awake and pay attention when they turned the TV in these days. Between this and Brother Bear he was beginning to think children's films had more to offer than he had previously considered. 

"I don't know why you want me to say it's okay to marry Danno, Steveo. Everyone says you’re married already. If you need a big dumb wedding to prove it then that’s okay with me as long as there's cake," Charlie said.

Steve lit up. A sense of relief flooded him as his heart beat stabilised.

"I promise you there will be cake," he said.

"Cool. Then sure. Marry Danno. I don’t mind," the boy shrugged.

Steve mussed up his hair affectionately as he scooped him into a hug.

"Awesome! You're awesome Charlie! I love you! But hey, hey, remember, you cant tell anyone okay? Only me, you, Gracie-" Steve glanced at Eric and wrinkled his nose, "and Eric, know, and it has to be a surprise."

Charlie shrugged again. "Whatever, I won't tell. Can I go now?"

"Sure," Steve nodded.

He opened his arms so that Charlie could climb out. He slid off of the couch and ran over to Eddie, who instantly leapt up to play. The two of them went chasing each other out into the garden where they had more room to be boisterous and less people to tell them to be quiet. Steve smiled, but as he rubbed the back of his neck, Eric could tell something was wrong.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You’re all tense. You worried about what uncle D is gonna say?" He asked.

"No, no, its not..." Steve gestured towards the exit and turned back to Eric, "I just thought he'd be more excited."

"Yeah because if there's one thing every little boy cares about it's romance," Eric scoffed. Then he grinned, "Can I please be best man?"

Steve did his best to fight the need to wrinkle his nose at Eric. He had grown up a lot recently, but he was still a kid. And he wasn't exactly Steve's first choice of best man. In fact, he wasn’t really on the list.

"Why don’t you want to be Danny's best man?" Steve suggested. 

Eric shook his head, "Danny wont let me be best man."

He said it with confidence because he knew it was true. Steve did too. Neither of them would expect Danny to agree to someone with less rigidity in his opinions than himself. It had to be someone who was going to accept that Danny was going to fire him three times and still carry on planning without expecting an apology or being asked back.   
Ideally, it would be Steve, but the world wasn't ideal. 

"Well, I was gonna ask Kono-" Steve began.

"Kono can't be your best man! She’s a woman!" Eric argued.

"Then she’s the best woman," Steve shrugged.

"That's not fair, how can I compete with that? What if Danny wants Kono to be his best man first and she says yes?" Eric whined.

Again he shrugged. "I'll ask Junior."

"I’m behind _Junior?!"_

"You’re behind Eddie."

"My granddad is before me?!"

"I mean the dog, but, yeah."

"Wow." Eric kissed his teeth and shook his head. "Am I in the wedding party at all?"

"Well, I'll have to ask Danny about this, obviously, but in my mind, you're the photographer," Steve said.

"You want me to _work_ at your wedding?! So not fair!" Eric huffed.

He folded his arms across his chest and dropped himself on the couch to sulk. Steve smirked. As old as Eric got, he still looked like Charlie when he couldn’t get his own way. Fortunately Steve had had a lot of practice dealing with these in recent times.

"Well if you don’t want to that’s fine, we'll hire someone else-" he began.

"One of my competitors?!" Eric leapt to his feet in offence, "Really?! Let someone else photograph my own family?!"

"There are only two options Eric! Either you’re the photographer or you’re not, you cant have it both ways!" Steve pointed out.

He tried not to laugh at the offence in his eyes. Eric folded his arms again.

"Are you going to invite Kamekona as a guest or as a caterer?" He demanded.

"Actually I always imagined hiring catering from Steve's so, both I guess," Steve did. 

"It's not called _Steve's_ Steve. It was never called Steve's," he argued.

"Shut up Eric," Steve tutted.

He moved towards the kitchen, and Eric followed him.

"Have you got a ring yet, can I see it?" He asked. 

Steve opened the fridge. "I have, but, you can't."

"Don’t you trust me? After everything we've been through-" Eric began.

"You can't see it because I don’t have it! It's not in the house." Steve slammed the fridge shut.

Eric frowned. He turned on his heels to track Steve as he moved across the room.

"It's not?"

"Are you insane? Of course it isn’t! What if Danny found it? What if _Clara_ found it?"

That was a fair argument. Both of them were aware of how much Danny's mother liked to gossip. Last time they had visited her, she had waited one whole day before phoning Danny to ask what had happened after he left. When he didn’t pick up, she phoned Steve. When he didn't pick up she called Lou. Then Lou phoned Danny to yell at him for Clara phoning him at three am to see if he was at a crime scene and if Danny was there with him. She never had quite gotten the hang of the time difference. 

"Then where is it?" Eric asked.

Steve glanced at his watch. If his timing was right, he knew exactly where on Earth it was. "Gracie has it."

Eric's eyes widened, "You uh, you let a student be in control of what I hope is very expensive jewellery? Are you, uh, are you an idiot?" 

Steve shot him a look as he lifted the glass of juice he had just poured to his mouth. The stern look usually worked on Eric, even to this day, but Steve had a better idea.

"You’re definitely not my best man now."

Eric slammed a hand on the table in front of him and cried, "I take it back!"

Steve took a long glug from his glass and wrinkled his nose as he set it down in front of him. He enjoyed watching Eric stare desperately as he swallowed, and let out a satisfied _ah._

"Too late."

"No! No- wait- Steve! Steve! I take it back - Steve!" 

Steve headed out towards the lalani with his glass to watch Charlie and Eddie running around on the grass. Eric followed. He was still desperately trying to argue his case when Steve shushed him. He could hear Danny's car engine out front. He'd recognise it anywhere.

"Not a word," he warned Eric. 

Eric moved a hand across his mouth to mime zipping his lips. They heard the keys in the door as Danny opened it, as though it was ever actually locked.

"I'm home! You would not believe the day I've had!" He called.

The door slammed. Danny looked around the empty room. Not even Eddie came over to greet him. He had definitely seen Steve's truck outside though. He was definitely home.

"Steve?" He called again.

He tried to keep the concern out of his voice. Jumping to conclusions never helped anything, even when it was all his mind wanted to do. He'd been working on getting that under control because he knew how irritating it was for everyone. Steve especially. 

"Out here," Steve called back.

Danny let out a sigh of relief while no one was around to see him. Maybe one day that instant bubble of fear when something wasn’t exactly how he expected it would fade. Not any time soon through. Realistically, not ever.

Danny stepped out onto the lalani to see Steve sitting in his chair, drinking juice and watching their son play. As the sun dappled over him and he finally looked relaxed, even the cargo shorts could be considered attractive. Danny leaned down to plant a kiss on his temple. Steve tilted his head to allow him access.

"Hey babe," he sighed. 

"Welcome back," Steve smiled.

"Hey Charlie!" Danny called.

Charlie slowed in his running for just long enough to look up and wave, "Hi Danno!"

Eddie barked a greeting too. Danny put his hands on his hips. 

"Y'know that dog never runs up to greet me anymore. It's like he's too good for me now."

"He's an old man Danno, we're lucky he can still run. Most dogs his age would have arthritis by now," Steve shrugged. 

"Yeah... I wonder what the hell we'll tell Charlie when he goes," Danny muttered. 

Steve glanced up at him. As he watched Danny's eyes track Charlie's movements across the grass and the way his jaw tightened as he did, Steve could tell it had been one of those kinds of days. 

It didn't need talking about though, so again he shrugged. "What's to tell, dogs die. People die. Fact of life, he’s gotta learn it some time."

"Beautiful, do me a favour? When I go, don't give the eulogy," Danny huffed.

"When you go I’m gonna be too busy hunting down the culprit to write one," Steve promised.

Danny tilted his head at him accusingly. "You think I’m going to be murdered?"

"In all fairness uncle D, we've met you, so, yeah probably," Eric nodded.

Danny glared at him. "Thank you for that, very reassuring, why is he here?"

Steve glanced over at Eric as Danny looked to him for an answer. It was in that moment that he realized he still didn’t know why he was actually here.

"I dunno, he's not been here long enough to tell me," Steve lied.

Steve sat up in his seat as Danny folded his arms.

"C'mon then Eric, out with it, what'd you want this time?" Danny sighed. 

"You make it sound like I always ask you for favours, like a mooch-" Eric began, defensively. 

"Because it's factually accurate now what'd you want?" Danny repeated. 

"I need a favour," Eric said.

Steve snorted to himself as Danny fell back into his tired deadpan sarcasm. 

"I'm shocked, look at me, I'm shocked," he said.

"He’s shocked," Steve reiterated. 

"Go get me a beer," Danny ordered. 

"Coming right up," Steve nodded.

He hopped to his feet and took a single step towards the door. He had barely made that much of a movement before the blonde stole his seat. Danny leaned back in it with a heavy groan of relief.   
Now he was home he could finally kick off his shoes and relax. He sunk into the chair until he looked like he was melting.

"Oh hey, can I get one too?" Eric asked Steve.

"None for him, he's driving," Danny answered for him.

Eric licked his lips, "Actually that’s uh, that’s the favour I needed to ask you about..."

Danny's eyes locked onto Eric, but he made no attempt to acknowledge him beyond that. Eric took that to be his opportunity to explain himself.

"My apartments flooded, and its in my rental agreement that I won't be constantly inside the studio for more than forty eight sequential hours to guarantee I'm not living in a commercial property-"

"Eric, please don’t be asking what I think you’re asking," Danny interrupted.

"I'd go to a hotel, but the business is new, it relies on word of mouth- I'm not exactly flush right now y’know?" Eric gave a weak laugh.

"You absolutely cannot stay with us!" Danny stated firmly.

"Aw c’mon uncle D!" Eric whined, "Everyone else is gonna be here anyway-"

"Exactly, there’s no room," Danny insisted.

"I can squeeze in with mom, easy!"

"She’s already bunking in with Bridge and her husband, four of you in there is going to end in a blood bath."

"Sophia then?"

"She's in with Grace and getting those two to stay quiet at night is gonna be enough of a battle without you there to encourage them."

"Then _Vito._ Please, I have to stay somewhere until they can find me new accommodation!"

"When will that be?"

"Day after black Friday..."

"No chance."

"But-"

Danny sat up as he cut him off, arguing, "Even if we wanted to we couldn’t! We're stretched as it is, we were hoping Vito could stay with you-"

"Well he can't can he because I can't stay with me!" Eric cried. 

He threw his arms helplessly into the air and slouched in his chair as Steve returned. Steve handed Danny a bottle of beer, and then took a seat on the arm of his chair.

"What's going on? Why can't Vito stay with you?" Steve asked calmly.

Danny took a long, well needed drag from the bottle. The ice cold chill eased his temper slightly. The way Steve slung an arm around his shoulders like he was already plotting how to slide into his lap once Eric left helped more though. 

"My apartment flooded in the storm," Eric explained. 

"Oh that sucks man. Which hotel are you staying in, I'll pick you up on Thursday," Steve offered.

Eric's shoulders sagged. "Steve, I can't-"

"Eric can stay in my room with me Danno."

All three of them turned to look at the child. They hadn’t noticed that he had stopped playing and was now lingering at the bottom of the stairs, listening to their conversation. Steve and Danny shared an uneasy look.

"That's nice Charlie, but-" Danny began. 

"That way we can all be together, like at Christmas! That was fun!" Charlie grinned. 

"That was fun wasn’t it? Huh? We all enjoyed ourselves, some more than others. And this is _thanksgiving._ It'll be something I'm thankful for!" Eric agreed eagerly. 

"Eric-" Steve began.

"Which means I won't have to be thankful for being trusted with _secrets._ You know that gratitude don’t you Steve? Being thankful that people can trust you to keep things secret, and not to go blabbing them to other people," Eric said, pointedly. 

Steve shot him that dark warning look now, but Eric had him. More than that, Eric was desperate. He held firm in his resolve, and held Steve's gaze. Steve took a long sip of his own beer as it dawned on him that there was no way out of this one. Danny shifted in his seat to roll his head towards Steve.

"You uh, you trusted Eric with a secret? Are you a full idiot or are you still in training?" He asked.

Steve hung his head. "Sorry Danno. He's family. And if Charlie's willing to share-"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, I get it. But you should have seen the blackmail coming Steve-"

"I know, I know-"

"Rookie mistake."

"I said I was sorry!"

"Your apology is noted."

The two of them sighed as they realised that they were going to have relatives staying earlier than they had expected, and their last quiet night of freedom had just been destroyed. Eric, however, flashed Charlie a grin.

"This is gonna be great!"


	4. Chapter 4

As he leaned against the door of Danny's car, watching him nervously pace back and forth while keeping an eye on the airport door, Steve felt a rush of dejavu.

"I get it now," he said.

Danny turned away from the door to look over at him. "Huh?"

"Those nerves you were complaining about last time? The idea of having three big personalities under one roof-" Steve recalled.

"It's a lot more than three this time Steve," Danny said.

"It's nerve wracking," Steve agreed. 

He reached a hand out to him. Danny reached back to brush his fingers against Steve's. It was a quiet touch of reassurance. That no matter what else happened, they were both still there. Beside one another.

"Can I tell you something? I’m a little relieved Mary can't come," Steve admitted. 

Danny leaned on the car beside him. "You are?"

"Don’t get me wrong, she’s my sister, I love her, I wish I saw more of her, but she’s a handful herself and Joan would be overwhelmed. Maybe it'll be easier without worrying about them too," Steve explained.

"That’s funny because dyou what I was thinking? I was thinking it'd be a hell of a lot easier to manage thanksgiving if it was just Mary and Joan staying," Danny smiled.

Steve tilted his head at him, "Yeah?" 

"Yeah, I mean, she's been here for the big day before right?" He shrugged.

"She didn’t defrost the turkey," Steve recalled.

Danny pursed his lips as he accepted that. "No, uh, no, she didn’t, but she did juggle finding out your aunt was sick and adopting a baby and trying to cook a family meal while we were working pretty well. Besides, Grace and Charlie would be here to help look after Joan and cook the food-"

"And she'd stay in a hotel to avoid her allergies. I see what you mean, that'd be so much easier," Steve nodded.

"Maybe next year," Danny said.

The two of them chuckled between themselves and each other. For a few more precious minutes they still had their own private bubble. Just the two them. Calm, and happy, and together. 

Then Steve's phone rang.

"Speak of the devil..." he muttered. 

Danny watched him curiously as he took a few steps away from the car. Not all that long ago he would have hounded Steve to know what it was all about. He had, after all, inherited his mothers need to know everything going on around him. But they had been together long enough now that Danny knew all he had to do was wait. Steve would tell him everything eventually. 

"McGarrett."

"Hey Stevie!"

"Hi Steveo!"

"Aloha uncle Steve!"

It was very obvious that he was on loud speaker and the three girls at the other end were crowding around Mary's phone. It warmed Steve's heart to imagine them crowded around it like that. Mary would have to crouch for Joan to be close enough to talk to, but Joan would still be holding onto her arm to get closer. He couldn't place how high up they’d have to be standing though, because Grace was taller than he thought she was. In his mind she was still the little fourteen year old who came up to his chest height when she wrapped her arms around him. But she had grown up. Not much in height though. 

"Ah my favourite girl group! How is everything?" Steve grinned.

"Everything’s fine. We're at the train station now. We just called to let you know the handoff had happened," Mary grinned.

"Brilliant! That’s fantastic!"

The giggles of the girls was so full of excitement that Steve had to turn his back on Danny to hide his grin because he couldn't stop it growing. He wasn't fast enough, and Danny knew that smile. He appeared at Steve's elbow.

"Is that Gracie?" He asked.

"Uh-"

Danny didn’t wait for an answer. He walked like he was going to slam into Steve's arm to Steve had to raise it and expose his phone. Danny took it with ease, and fortunately didn’t look at the caller ID. One look and it would give the game away. Steve's heart rose into his throat. 

"Gracie, what's your ETA?"

Instantly the women hushed each other, as if they all needed reminding that Danny couldn't know they were all together. Grace wasn't supposed to be in this part of the country and they couldn't risk him getting suspicious. Mary and Joan pressed their fingers to their lips as Grace took the phone in her hand.

"Um, well, we - we have a layover in Vancouver and then its straight onto Hawaii," she said.

"That’s ridiculous, why didn't you get a direct flight?" Danny demanded.

Grace licked her lips. It had taken a lot to convince her roommate to miss the last direct flight back so that she could stop off in LA and pick up a very important package for her new step father. Explaining that to Danny without tipping him off was impossible, so she didn’t try.

"It's cheaper this way."

She wasn't lying, it had been cheaper, but it helped that Mary was mouthing, _s_ _ale_ and pointing eagerly at a sign in a shop window to highlight her point. She heard her father sigh hard.

"Don't you remember San Diego?" He asked. 

"Of course I remember San Diego, we were sad, and then at the end of it I got a new dad," Grace teased.

"It took forever Gracie! That delay took ages! We almost didn't make it home for your party," Danny insisted, "How much money does it even save?"

"Nearly three hundred dollars," Grace lied.

It only saved her a two hundred dollars because she was taking a train to meet up with her friends again. They were only three hours away, but on a plane it was faster, and a lot more expensive. 

"Well _that’s_ ridiculous, but you know that when it comes to any lump of money or having you home safe with me on Thanksgiving, it's a no brainer!" Danny insisted.

"You’re gonna be so rich Danno," Grace snorted.

 _"Grace!"_ Danny warned.

"I'm kidding! I'll be there! Don't worry, I wouldn't miss it," Grace promised.

A crackle of the speaker above them rumbled across the station. Mary and Joan gasped urgently as they realised how loud it was. Once again they had to hush each other urgently, so fingers on lips became hands over mouths.

"Grace? Where are you, it sounds so busy, I can barely hear you!" Danny complained. 

"It's fine Danno-" she began to argue.

"Maybe it's my signal, it's spotty all over this pineapple dump-"

Steve's chest tightened. He had been anxiously tapping his fingers against his upper arm where they were wrapped across his body. Now he knew he needed his phone back. If Danny tried to check his signal he'd definitely see the caller ID and then they'd be screwed.

"Uh, hey uh, hey! Is that your sister?!" He yelped.

Danny spun around to look at him. He frowned and glanced back at the airport door.

"Huh? Who? Where?" He asked.

"Over there!" Steve urged.

He pointed into the crowd that happened to be leaving the airport at that moment. A plane must have just landed. Danny frowned as he scowered the area for someone who looked like his family. Steve's heart beat hard against his chest as he held his breath.

"Gracie, I gotta go, here's Steve," he said.

Danny thrust the phone at him, unaware of the relief heaving through the man. At the other end of the phone, all three girls sighed with relief too. Mary wiped her sweaty palm on her trouser leg as she took the phone back.

"That was close," he said.

All three of them laughed in agreement, but Joan's was the most uplifting. She was so thrilled to be a part of the espionage that the laughter was always on her lips. 

"Thank you so much for this Mary. I know how much Dad meant to you," Steve said, earnestly.

"It's my pleasure. Really. I'm glad you’ve finally found someone who can kick your a- uh, butt, into settling down. Sure took you long enough," Mary said.

Her affectionate grin was audible. 

"Uncle Steve loves Uncle Danny mom, it has to be a happily ever after!" Joan said, seriously. 

A laugh burst through Steve's chest, but he held it back. Danny wasn’t far enough away to miss it if he did.

"Yeah cookie monster, you tell her!" Steve grinned.

Danny threw his hands into the air and stormed back over, "What are you talking about Steve, there’s no one there!"

"My mistake," Steve shrugged. 

Danny reached for the phone, "Let me talk to-"

Steve's heart began to beat hard again. "I gotta go. Call me when you get to the airport Gracie."

"Will do Steveo," Grace promised.

"Be good! Aloha," he cried urgently.

"Steve wait-"

"Aloha!" The girls chorused.

Steve hung up urgently before Danny could stop him. Danny's jaw opened and his arms swung down, visibly offended.

"Steve, what the hell?" Danny demanded.

"She had to go," Steve lied.

Danny rolled his eyes heavily and huffed. He didn’t believe him for a minute, but there were bigger fish to fry. Eddie had just texted them to let them know they had landed.

Mary laughed breezily as she tucked her phone back into her pocket. "I really thought Danny was gonna catch us when that announcement went off!" 

Joan giggled brightly and nodded in agreement. Grace mussed Joan's hair playfully.

"I wish you were coming too aunt Mary, Danno would love to see you and I’m sure Charlie would love to meet his cousin," she said.

"That’s me!" Joan beamed.

"I would too but the adoption place said this was really important, and its probably not, but it's safer to do what they say just in case," Mary shrugged.

She had come to accept that there were some hoops she was always going to have to jump through. If the choice came down to thanksgiving with Steve or a lifetime with Joan, it wasn't a choice. 

"I'll definitely be there for the wedding though," she promised.

"Promise?" Joan pouted.

"Of course we will, I wouldn’t miss that for the world," Mary smiled. She looked up at Grace again, "I bet you’re gonna look so pretty in your bridesmaids dress- will there be a bridesmaids dress?"

Grace opened her mouth to answer and then closed it as she frowned again. "I have no idea." 

"This is going to be so cool, they’re going to have so many choices to make," Mary grinned.

Grace wrinkled her nose. She thought back to the days of restaurant planning. Endless days of being picked up late, or dozing in the construction site as the men bickered, and Steve muttering complaints about Steve when when he wasn't around. Their ideas often clashed. 

"That didn’t go so well last time," she said.

"Yeah well this time you and me will be there to stop them from trying to kill each other," Mary winked.

Another announcement crackled out over head as the signs above them flickered to announce the new train arriving at the station. Automatically Grace glanced up, even though she already knew it was the one she wanted.

"There's my train," she said.

Mary nodded, "Alright you have everything? Bag? Passport? Rings?"

"Check, check, and check!" Grace patted each relevant pocket.

When travelling the world small tricks made things faster and easier. Things like keeping whatever you need for your train in one pocket and whatever you need for the plane in another. It made things faster since she didn’t have to fumble to find what she needed. Steve had taught her that.

"Awesome, then I guess you’re all set. I made you this pack lunch for the train, there’s not much in it but I hope its okay," Mary explained. 

She felt slightly sheepish to hand the girl a small paper bag with a sandwich, some juice, a couple oranges and a KitKat inside, but Grace beamed anyway. She took it with all the enthusiasm that Mary had hoped she would. Being an aunt was new to her, and given that her aunt was practically her mother, she wasn't certain where the line stood. As for Grace, she already had a mother, a father, and two step fathers, another aunt who acted like a mother would only even out the mix.

"Mahalo aunt Mary. You’re the best," she smiled.

Mary lit up. "You too. It's so cool to have a new niece! I’ve never been a real aunt before, I'm looking forward to it!"

Mary pulled the girl in towards her to give her a tight hug. It was odd to think how nervous she had been when Steve told her Danny's daughter would be coming to collect their fathers wedding ring for him. In a short time, she had remembered how bright and kind and funny that little girl she had met at many family holidays really was. 

In her opinion at least, Grace was well named.

When Mary stepped back to let her go, Grace fell to one knee and booped Joan's nose playfully.

"Bye little monster, I'll see you at the wedding!" She said.

Joan giggled and hugged her too. "Bye Grace!"

"Be safe okay? Your dads will kill me if anything happens to you," Mary warned.

Grace beamed. Her _dads._ It was hardly surprising how easily she got used to hearing that. Most of her life - and all of Charlie's - people had mistaken Steve for being her father too, and now they were finally vindicated. She waved as she tightened her grip on her rucksack and ran for her gate.

"Aloha!"

"Aloha!" Mary and Joan called after her, waving too.

Danny's idea of waving reminded Steve of someone trying to land a plane. It was less a gesture of greeting, and more a beckon of declaration. The yelling that came with it didn’t help.

_"Ma!"_

Clara's head flicked up, making her golden curls bounce up to her shoulders in the shade of her floppy hat. She beamed when she saw her son waiting for her, and threw out her arms even at a distance.

"My boys!" She cried.

Steve felt a swell of pride. It never failed to delight him every time Clara tried to stake a claim on him. He had been engulfed into her family whether he liked it or not and he did. He really, really did. Clara squeezed Danny tightly as she hugged him, and raised her arms to pull Steve into the same hug. As he allowed her to drag him over, Eddie hauled a trolley load of suitcases out towards them.

"Don’t mind me," he puffed, "I'm just an old man dying of heat stroke."

"I told you to buy a bottle on the plane-" Clara began. 

Eddie interrupted with, "And I told you I'm not being charged an extra two dollars for being a captive audience! They drive up the prices to gouge you of your money because you don't have a choice! It's-" 

"It's a scam! It's ridiculous, you’re right, you shouldn't pay it pop," Danny agreed firmly.

"Thank you! Finally, someone with sense!" Eddie cried.

Clara rolled her eyes, "Well if you don’t buy their water and you die of heat stroke you’ve only got yourself to blame."

"I'll die thirsty, but I'll die justified," Eddie stated stubbornly. 

Clara huffed. She turned back toward Steve and tilted her head towards her husband. "You see what I gotta put up with?"

Steve glanced over at Danny. Danny put his hands on his hips and looked over at Steve, expectantly. A small smirk tugged at his lips.

"I can imagine," he nodded.

Clara chuckled to herself as Danny have him a challenging look.

"Excuse me - what’s that supposed to mean?" He asked. 

Steve wisely decided to ignore his question. Instead he hauled one of the cases off of the trolley and nodded towards the drivers door.

"Pop the truck for me please," he said.

Danny hummed dubiously but moved to do as he asked. Clara leaned on the back door of the car to watch Steve move the cases. The way his muscles rippled across his arms as he lifted them, almost effortlessly, and neatly heaved them into the trunk.   
Just because he was her son's boyfriend didn't mean she couldn't appreciate how attractive he was. After all, Steve was breath-taking. 

"How are you both? Steve you're still looking far too thin. Didn’t you get the care packages I sent?" She asked. 

Steve's eyebrows rose as he lifted the next case. "Well, uh, sort of, ysee-"

"I sent them to the palace so they wouldn't get lost. I thought, where’s the safest place to keep them? Of course, the place where Five-O are based with all of the security around to keep everything in check," she said.

Clara's care packages had become something of a sore point around the palace recently. After an initial incident, Steve had become defensive of his care packages and it was causing friction between himself and their security. Of course Junior did his best to stay out of it, but when he overheard some security officers joking about Steve thinking he was still in the navy and these packages being less important than he thought, he got sucked in. Which opened the gate for Tani to back him up. 

To prevent an all out battle between the law enforcers and their front line defence team, Danny had been asked to ask Clara to send her packages to their home instead. Steve even tipped the courier company extra to use the spare key to make sure they got left in the kitchen and not on the lalani.

Then Eddie had broken into the box and eaten half of the contents before they got home and Steve was forced to face the fact that he had gotten a little overly defensive about the whole thing.

Which was not something he wanted to tell Clara. 

It was, however, something Danny had already told her all about, and eagerly retold now.

"Yeah and that was a great idea ma, except that they’re legally required to check any suspicious packages and since the dogs smelt your lasagne, they reacted to your package," Danny explained, eagerly.

"They blew up my lasagne?" She gasped.

"No, no they did not, they checked it was safe, which, y’know, it was, and the package on to McGarrett, since that’s their jobs-" Danny began. Steve scoffed bitterly. Danny gave him a look. "It is their jobs Steve."

"It was missing _half_ a lasagne!" Steve huffed bitterly.

"Steve-"

"They could have taken the whole lasagne and claimed it was a security risk, and I would have argued it, but I would have understood, but _no,_ they only took _half!_ Which means-"

Danny rolled his head towards his mother and continued, for Steve, in the same tone as him, "Someone on security must have been hungry, smelt your delicious food, and decided that since it had to be delivered opened anyway-"

Steve placed a hand on one hip and announced, firmly, "It was Kevin."

"There was no evidence to prove-" Danny began. 

"I've been doing this a long time Danny, I _know_ it was Kevin! That weird smile of his when I left that day- I didn’t even know what he'd done till I got home!" Steve argued.

"Nonetheless there was no evidence-" 

"Conveniently they were all wearing gloves!"

"Well their job requires gloves as part of the ppe-"

Danny had had this argument a thousand times. It was always the same. Part of him enjoyed the rigidity of it. The ridiculousness. Every time it came up, Steve stuck to his guns, and it never failed to amuse Danny how agitated he could get over something so insignificant. 

"So you didn’t get my care package. I guess I'll just have to whip up a new one when we get to your place," Clara offered like it was nothing.

Steve lit up. "Really?! Because I would love that! We can, we can stop and get the ingredients on the way-"

Clara and Steve laughed as they eagerly discussed both the idea of the lasagne, and the idea of Steve helping to make it. Eddie gave a low chuckle and nudged his son warmly.

"Y’know I never thought I'd meet someone who loves your mothers cooking more than you do, yet here we are," he said.

Danny's smile was a reflex these days. It came whenever he felt that familiar bubble of affection for his partner. It was still so utterly love-struck every time.

"I know, but to be fair pop, his mother wasn’t much of a cook," he said.

"Neither were you until recently, but if it comes to mom cooking or you cooking-" Eddie began.

"I cooked last time she was here - I made you both a gourmet meal!" Danny argued. 

Eddie snorted. He called out, "D'you need a hand with those Steve?"

Eddie had deliberately waited until there was only one case left, and Steve already had a grip on the handle to offer. All of them were aware of that fact, and none of them acknowledged it.

"Nah, I got it thanks," Steve called back.

"Does he cook?" Eddie asked.

Danny scoffed. "Are you kidding? We're lucky if he orders pizza right."

Eddie winced and gave Danny an empathic look. "Pineapple?"

Danny nodded solemnly. "Its like he doesn’t have taste buds."

"Oof, that’s rough," Eddie hissed.

He gave Danny a sympathetic pat on the back as he heaved a helpless sigh.

"What can I do, I feel in love with a Neanderthal?" Danny shrugged. 

"At least its love buddy," Eddie said. "C’mon, let's get driving before someone gives us a ticket for lingering too long."

Danny smirked again as he nodded, "C’mon Steve, lets go."

Steve hurried a little faster to return the trolley and get back to the car. Eddie shot Danny a confused look over the car roof as he moved for the passenger door.

"What, you don’t drive your own car?" He asked. 

"Steve gets sick if he’s not in control of everything," Danny explained. 

"That’s just not true, I get motion sick-" Steve began.

"What kind of Navy SEAL gets motion sick?" Eddie interrupted.

"That's exactly what I said! It's because he has control issues," Danny grinned. 

"I do not have control issues Danny-" Steve interrupted.

"Who's cooking the turkey?" Danny challenged.

"That doesn't count," Steve shrugged. 

"What’d you mean that doesn’t count, how doesn’t that count?!"

"That doesn't count, it doesn’t- you don’t appreciate the commitment that goes into the _preparation_ of the meat-"

"Shut up and get in the car."

While the two of them bickered over the roof of the car, Eddie climbed into the back seat. It would be safer back here, he decided. He had been in a car while Steve was driving before and if he never did it again it would be too soon. Clara interlaced her fingers through her husbands. 

"They remind me of us when we were young," she smiled wistfully.

"You're still young in my eyes," he cooed.

She giggled, "Oh Eddie, this heat is making you soft."

"What can I saw, Hawaii warms the soul," he smiled back.

As he did, Steve climbed into the car. He perked up to hear someone complimenting his island, as he always did. 

"Yes Eddie! It's the aloha spirit!" He rolled his head to give Danny a pointed look, _"warms_ the soul."

Danny met Steve's look and held it for a beat. He even managed to hold back the urge to smirk, or give away anything that suggested he was amused by his boyfriends antics. Nothing but the twinkle in his eye that suggested if they had time he would have punched him anyway. 

Instead, he simply ordered, _"Drive."_

Steve snorted and nodded obediently. Without another word he kicked the car into gear and they finally left the airport. 

Leaving behind their last moments of peace with it.

Driving through the city was an eye-opener for Eddie. He had been expecting open beaches, rolling hills, lush green valleys as far as the eye could see. The skyscrapers towering over them felt far more familiar than he expected. Even with the rainbows hanging like a ribbon across the Hilton and the flowers blooming in whatever patches of grass could find a place to grow, it was familiar. A city was a city, no matter where in America you went.

Altogether the simmering warmth was definitely not what he expected. The breeze that rolled across the ground whipped up the sand and dust as the car moved. It carried a cooling relief along with the smell of salt from the beach, and the distant edge of cooking shrimp. 

None of that was what first came to mind when he thought of Thanksgiving. There was no sign of the usual browning trees or orange leaves fluttering through the air, or the lingering perfume of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. But this was nice too, and Clara was constantly telling him to broaden his horizons. 

"So, Clara. What time does Vito arrive?" Steve asked cautiously. 

"Is he not already here?" Clara asked. 

The mood in the car dimmed.

"I thought he was following you?" Danny said tentatively. 

"He said he had a flight booked but he had to meet someone on the island. We assumed he would arrive before us," Eddie explained. 

Steve and Danny shared a hesitant look. They were highly aware of the fact that Vito had stayed in touch with Kamekona after leaving Hawaii, and anything Vito and Kamekona cooked up together was a recipe for disaster.

"And the girls?" Danny asked. 

"As far as I know they’re arriving tomorrow. It'll be nice to see them. Are your family coming Steve?" Clara asked. 

Steve’s mouth opened before the words formed, "Uh, no. No, my sister's being checked in on by social services - she adopted a kid and now the dad is protesting that he didn't permit the kid being given up, it's a whole thing. She'll get through it though, she's a good mom and if I’ve gotta pull some strings I will."

"Like a good uncle," Clara smiled.

"Thank you. Besides, my ohana will be around. They’re all coming to the Thanksgiving football match," Steve explained. 

"The football match?" Eddie repeated, with interest.

"Oh yeah, we do it every year. It's tradition, me versus Danny," Steve explained. 

"My teams winning," Danny said, grinning at his parents in the mirror.

"How'd you figure that?" Steve frowned. 

"Simple, because we've won more games than you," Danny shrugged. 

Steve frowned. "Are you counting the year Tani took over for me, because that doesn’t count."

"What'd you mean that doesn’t count, that counts she was covering for you-"

"It doesn’t count, she wasn't me, I wasn’t playing, it doesn’t count!"

"You gave her full control of your team-"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this-"

"Okay so I take it this big football game is your work friends playing against each other?" Clara interrupted.

"Well, they’re my ohana. My family. Closest I've got left anyway, so yeah," Steve said.

"Then I can't wait to see everyone again," Clara smiled.

"That can only end well," Eddie scoffed.

They decided that the best way to avoid another argument was to change the topic. Something they could agree upon was hard to find, but there was always something.

"You're gonna love the house ma. The lawn in the yard goes straight down to the beach," Danny said.

"And it's your childhood house I hear Steve?" Clara asked. 

"Mmhuh yeah," Steve nodded. 

"Full of secrets," Clara asked, pointedly.

"Uh..." Steve glanced at Danny, "who knows? Maybe."

Danny gave him a shrug in return. He didn’t know why his mother was asking any more than Steve did. Whatever secrets were hidden in that house, Clara probably didn’t want to know them.

"How interesting. Are there lots to places to hide things?" She asked curiously. 

Danny began to cotton on as he glanced at her in the mirror. "Things?" 

"Don't be so coy Clara, you have a question, just ask it," Eddie chuckled.

"No, I - I don’t have a particular question," Clara lied innocently, "I'm just wondering what precious little things could be hidden anywhere in that house. Keys maybe. Or coins. Or _jewellery."_

Now Steve cottoned on too, he let out a laugh. That kind of secret he didn’t mind her digging around for. It was much safer.

"Jewellery ma, really?" Danny smirked.

"Yes honey, y’know, jewellery!" Clara insisted, "Like necklaces or brooches, or bracelets, or, uh, or anklets, or earrings, or-" 

"Rings?" Danny offered. 

"Oh rings! What a wonderful idea! Why do you suggest rings honey?" Clara gasped eagerly. 

The men laughed at how she shifted in her seat to edge closer to them. They both individually would have loved to tell her their plans, but they couldn't. If she knew, the other would find out quicker than they could say I Do.

"I can guarantee you that there are no rings hidden in that house," Danny promised. 

"Are you _sure?"_ Clara asked.

She raised an eyebrow at Steve in the mirror, expectantly. Steve smirked and met her eye in the mirror too. 

"He's sure," he stated.

Clara's face fell. She demanded, "Well why not?!"

Once again they laughed and shook their heads as she ranted about how long they had been together and how they shouldn't wait to get married if they really loved each other, which they obviously did. 

"Subtle ma. Way to go," Danny smirked. 

Steve glanced at Danny as Danny leaned his head against his hand. His focus was out of the window, but he could still see his reflection. Danny's smile was like sunshine. It warmed Steve's chest. 

He couldn't wait to propose.

Danny stole a glance at Steve while his focus was on the road ahead. Even from this angle he could see the gleam of that megawatt smile of his. It made his insides liquid. 

He couldn’t wait to propose.


	5. Chapter 5

The lazy dozing atmosphere around the house lasted far longer than Eric had expected. He was lounging in the fishing boat that had been moved to replace the hammock in the garden, in his underwear and sunglasses, just chilling. Eddie the dog had hauled himself in with him, and was laying across his leg. The pair of them were napping in the afternoon sun, listening to the rise and crash of the waves, pretending they were rocking the rickety wood beneath them. Eric had propped it up on a rock to give them a chance to sway like the hammock had never left. It rocked back and forth, but it was more of a jolt so he had stopped trying to push it. Even the wasps were buzzing from one weed to another without much thought or attention. They just lazily hovered in the warm sunshine, enjoying the salty sea breeze that kept them cool.

**BAM!**

Eddie sat up on Eric's lap, raising his head to look up at the house. The movement jolted the boat, making it rock. Eric moved in alarm which pushed it further, which knocked over Eddie, shoving the weight across to sweep the wood the rest of the way off of the rock and cast both of them onto the ground. Gracelessly, Eddie scrambled his paws back upright and leapt away from Eric. He went dashing back up to the house to investigate the new arrivals, leaving Eric grumbling in his grass strains.

His attention slowly turned to the ruckus coming from the house. Eric tilted his head. Steve and Danny hadn’t left very long ago and if they came home to a mess they would be pissed. Still at the back of his mind he was keenly aware of the fact that both Danny and Steve had enemies. If any of them were dropping in to make mischief, it wasn’t going to be safe. It was as he got closer to the open door that he recognised the voice.

"Get this mutt away from me!"

Any tension in Eric eased with the realisation that it wasn’t anyone to be concerned about. He walked into the sitting room - stepping over the piles of books that were still scattered around where Steve and Danny were still trying to reorganize themselves- and leant on the back of the couch to watch.  
Kamekona was chasing after Eddie as the dog bounced urgently up at Vito, barking as he did.

"I think he likes you," Kamekona joked.

"Who doesn’t? Get it away from me," Vito huffed.

Kamekona attempted to get Eddie under control, but Eddie had a mind of his own. He knocked Vito down and sat on top of his chest.

"What's wrong with this dog?" Vito yelled.

"He used to be a police dog, maybe he remembers the smell of a criminal," Eric grinned.

"Is thay why he's not listening to you?" Vito snapped.

"Nah bruddah, if he didn't listen to ex criminals we wouldn't be such good buds," Kamekona said. 

To illustrate his point Kamekona reached down towards the dog, who lifted his head to reach his hand, before sniffing at Vito's chest again. He barked again. Loudly.

"I think he’s more interested in your pocket Uncle V," Eric said.

"Must be by manly musk-" Vito began. 

Eddie settled his full body weight into pinning Vito down to the floor. He made it abundantly clear that he wasn't moving until given the word by his master. 

"What's in your pocket uncle V?" Eric asked.

"None of your business," Vito snapped.

"You should trust the keiki. He’s good at his job, he'd be able to help," Kamekona said.

"This is why you've always been my favourite Kammy," Eric grinned.

Kamekona scratched the back of Eddie's ear as he leaned down towards Vito. He fished into his pocket, despite the older mans protests.

"Kamekona no!"

"We found this in the restaurant your uncles brought. Not sure what it is or how long its been there so I want it checked out," Kamekona explained. 

He tossed a small zip lock bag over to Eric. Eric moved to catch it, badly. Where he should have cupped his hands he didn’t and the bag dropped to the floor. There was a lack of finesse as he stooped to pick it up.

Inside the back there was some kind of white powder that none of them could identify off the bat. Eric tossed it playfully from hand to hand.

"Oh cool so you’re bringing it to Steve and Uncle D to check it out huh?" He asked.

"Nah bruh," Kamekona said. 

"Nah? What are you doing here then?" Eric frowned.

"You said you were spending Thanksgiving here what with the storm damage and everything-" Kamekona nodded pointedly at the pile of books, "so we came here to find you."

Eric sighed at the books. He had promised Danny he'd put as many as he could back on the shelf in alphabetical order, but he hadn’t done one. Not yet.

"Wait-" he glanced back up in surprise, "you want _me_ to do it?"

"First would you get this dog _off?!"_ Vito demanded.

"Eddie, down!"

Reluctantly, Eddie dragged himself away from Vito and trotted over to sit by Eric's feet. Vito sat bolt upright, visibly offended.

"It was that easy?" He demanded.

"Good boy," Eric cooed.

"I won't forget this kid," Vito warned.

"Why do I have to do it? Why can't uncle D deal with this, it's his job!" Eric complained. 

"We're trying to do this in the down low. Y'know, confidential like," Kamekona winked.

Vito nodded beside him, doing his best to give off some kind of godfather vibe as he did. "We don't need our restaurant becoming a crime scene. Too many cops. Bad for business."

Kamekona's head swung round to arch an eyebrow at him. _"Our_ restaurant?"

Vito frowned, "What, I'm an investor-"

"A _silent_ investor. Emphasis on the silent," Kamekona stated.

Vito huffed at him and flailed an arm like he was batting his protests aside. Eric tossed the bag back to him, and he caught it in one hand.

"Send it to Max, or ask Noelani-" He began.

"They've got other priorities, but you can keep this in the family," Vito urged. He stepped forward to slither an arm around Eric's shoulders, to make him feel more equal. It was the same way he had to lure Eric into multiple crimes when he was younger, "Besides, if it turns out to be something, you know Steve and Danny are gonna go rushing off to track 'em down and one of 'em'll get shot and ruin Thanksgiving for everyone."

"That does sound like them," Eric muttered to himself.

"Do it for your ohana," Kamekona urged.

Eric glanced between the two of them uncertainly. "I dunno... I haven’t been in the lab for a long time, even if they let me in, that doesn't mean I have access to the codes anymore, they change _all_ the time. It's a real pain in the ass."

"That security and red tape huh? Government keeps trying to control us," Vito scoffed.

"And it's probably some kind of federal crime-" Eric began.

"Please Eric? This is my livelihood," Kamekona pleaded.

Truthfully Kamekona didn't need the restaurant for his livelihood. Without it he and Flippa were still well in the profit zone from their other investments. But the restaurant was the first place that required proper staff. The people who worked there weren't just some kid that Kamekona was doing a favour hiring because they were willing to cook in the back of a hot truck and bus tables afterwards for their first paying role. They weren't blood like Flippa, who had his own team of similar kids to look out for. They weren't part time workers willing to restock shelves and serve shave ice with a smile two days a week. 

The restaurant had a full staff, beyond what Kamekona could manage himself. He'd had to hire in a full time restaurant manager, and they had a fully staffed kitchen and waiting staff. Not to mention front of staff and bar staff and cleaners (even if that particular necessity was subcontracted to Hirsch) who all relied on Kamekona and the restaurants success for pay. It was more responsibility than he had expected. 

Kamekona needed this. He didn’t want cops sniffing around spooking staff or customers. They needed the money.

"Oh alright, I'll do it," Eric declared.

Vito frowned. He pulled away from Eric enough to give him a pointed look. "That quick? I thought you'd dig your heels in more. What's wrong, being a shutterbug not bringing in the dough like you thought? Or not bringing in the ladies?"

"Actually it's simpler than that. No one ever says please," Eric shrugged.

Vito pulled away again. This time his arm swung down to his side. He folded them instead, and moved to stand beside Kamekona.

"I don't buy it," he said. 

Eric put on his best offended look, "can't I just do my ohana a solid without you thinking its quid pro quo?" 

"Nah, something smells fishy. Trust me, I know fish. What's the real reason?" Kamekona asked. 

Eric smirked and shrugged, "you're funding my business too. If he gets busted as some kind of front for drugs or money laundry, with his rep he's going down for a long time-"

"Hey, hey now! That’s all in the past cuz, don't go dragging that up. Besides, I'm legit now. I’m practically Five-O! Sheesh," Kamekona argued defensively. 

"And it will put my businesses at risk if he goes to the big house," Eric finished. 

Vito snorted. There was some level of pride in his eyes. He was always proudest of Eric when Eric was scamming him back, even when he was utterly swindled by it. Angry, sure, but proud. 

"So you'll check it out?" Vito asked.

"I'll call in. See if someone’s around who'll do a buddy a favour. No promises," Eric warned.

"You sound more and more like your uncle every day," Vito scoffed.

Eric was beginning to wonder if that was really as much of a bad thing as he used to believe. His eye trailed disdainfully back to the piles of books.

"There is one condition though," Eric decided.

"Be careful kid, no one likes someone who doesn’t know when to fold 'em," Vito warned darkly. 

"You gotta help me finish that," Eric gestured to the books. 

Vito and Kamekona shared a suspicious look as they eyed the large piles surrounding them. Neither of them had ever seen Steve sit down to read anything that didn't come in a brown folder with confidential contents printed on the front. They were fairly sure most of these books were for decoration.

"How hard can that be?" Vito muttered. 

The moment the tedium set in, they found out. Picking up books and sliding them onto a shelf wasn't exactly the height of entertainment. Although setting them up like dominoes winding around the new table was rather interesting. 

Even more so when they heard voices outside and had to scramble to pretend they weren't using hardback books as dominoes. That was made harder by Eddie leaping to his paws and knocking them down as he heard his family returning home.

"All I'm saying is that no one ever asked me if they could marry my kids!" Eddie complaining. 

"Yes, but of the three of your kids that got married, only two of them were girls," Clara laughed.

"And? None of them asked me for my blessing. Rachel could have asked, but nope. Feminism counts for nothing in marriages these days," Eddie huffed.

"Feminism pop?! Really?!" Danny snorted.

All three of them hauled in one of Clara's suitcases each. They were followed by Steve, who had three. He was clearly struggling to keep his grip on the middle one, but no one was going to help him. He had made too much of a show when picking up the third one. He brought this on himself.

Eddie dropped his bag onto the couch and turned to Danny. "Are you telling me you're not gonna be slightly annoyed at whatever grease pot marries Grace if he doesn't ask your blessing first?" 

Danny heaved a sigh as he set his bag on the floor. "Honestly Pop, I don’t even know if Gracie's gonna get married. Every wedding she's been to has ended in divorce, even the one where she was in the womb, whether she knows it or not-"

"Rachel was pregnant at your wedding?" Steve sounded surprised. 

"We found out afterwards," Danny lied.

From the kitchen they heard Vito scoff, "Maybe you did."

Steve's shoulders sunk. "Ah. Vito's here."

Danny frowned at Eric's mostly naked body. "Do you own clothes?"

Eric shrugged freely, "it's Hawaii!"

Danny's frown deepened. He had an argument set on his tongue when his eyes followed the trail of books to where Vito was stacking them back on the shelf in no particular order. He raised an eyebrow at Eric. 

"You’re not finished with this?"

Eric stared at him. His mouth opened and shut like a fish out of water. It would have continued until he could find an excuse if Clara hadn't gasped in delight. 

"Kamekona!" She beamed.

Kamekona threw out his arms when he saw her, his smile lighting up his eyes.

"Mrs Williams! Aloha! It's a breath of fresh air to see you again pretty lady," He said.

Clara laughed, flattered, and moved in to hug him, "Oh Kamekona I have missed you!"

Steve grinned at him. He was glad to see another friend there to outnumber Vito.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Danny joined Steve, welcoming Kamekona with a hug of his own. Once again Steve smiled to himself. Danny's affectionate side lent itself to more people than he'd care to admit. The first time he'd met Kamekona he would have been happy never to see him again. Now he tended to check in if they went more than four days without hearing from him. 

"I was just uh, dropping off Vito here and I stopped to help shelve the books. Can't a guy just be helpful?" Kamekona asked. 

It didn't ring true for Danny, but Steve was far too eager to show Vito that he had more friends here than Vito did so if he played up Steve had back up.

"Yeah, mahalo, we'll take any help we can get," Steve nodded.

Eddie's attention was caught on the pile of wood that had once been a table but was now sat in the back yard. The old fishing boat caught his eye too. They seemed out of place.

"What happened?" He asked. 

"Storm. Sometimes things get rough out here," Steve explained.

"Y’know what you could use that wood for?" Kamekona asked. 

"We're not hosting a luau," Danny warned firmly.

Steve pouted. Given how quick and how sharp Danny's response had been, as well as Steve's reaction, it was apparent to everyone else that this idea had come up before. A lot.

"I was gonna say donate it bruh. Plenty of locals need materials for temporary repairs. Especially on the north shore, that was hit hard," Kamekona said.

"Do you think they'd like a boat too?" Danny asked.

"You’re getting rid of the boat?!" Eric sounded distraught. 

"Yeah, it's not ours. Finders keepers doesn't count legally, y’know?" Steve said.

"They can have that too, sure," Danny shrugged.

Steve slithered a hand around Danny's shoulders and subtly drew him closer towards him. "Sounds like families on the north shore could really use a boost. I bet they'd love the chance to come down to the palace and share in a huge, delicious-"

"No luau," Danny interrupted sharply.

He pushed Steve off of his shoulder as he did. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Why not?! I'll handle everything-"

"Oh _you'll_ handle everything?! Well that changes everything!" Danny repeated, sarcastically, "No."

"What?! Give me one good reason why not!"

"You already manipulated me into helping you plan your own welcome home party at the start of the year-"

"I didn't manipulate you, you offered!"

"I said I'd _help_ you to plan it, you took that to mean I would do the whole thing -"

"Your job is in planning! You’re brilliant at it-"

"That is true, but it doesn’t mean-"

" _Shut up!"_

At the audacity of the interruption both men fell silent. Kamekona and Eric shared an uncomfortable look. They felt a little caught in the middle. On the one hand, you couldn't argue with Vito wanting them to stop arguing already, but on the other hand, no one told them to shut up and got away with it.

Not here anyway. 

Before every man could do anything beyond glare at Vito like they were gearing up to yell at him, Vito had more to shout at him.

"God help us if you knuckle heads ever do get married, the arguing over plans will kill us all!"

Both of them wanted to argue, but they suddenly found themselves standing on a knife edge. If either of them chose to argue him, they ran the risk of exposing their plans. Or, worse, if the other agreed that marriage was out of the question, their plans would be ruined as well.

Whatever reaction the other gave set them on edge.

Danny glanced at Steve. He had expected Steve to rise to Vito's accusations, either defensively or aggressively. But he hadn’t. He hadn't tried to argue at all. That was unsettling. If Steve wouldn’t argue with _Vito_ about them getting married, maybe he agreed with him...

Eddie and Vito shared a suspicious look at the lack of answering back. That was unlike Danny. Eric, however, just kept his mouth shut. This was Steve's fight to make. He knew when to back down and change the subject. 

"Let's get these put away," Steve declared.

"Ah, time is money bruddah, and I’ve been gone a long time already," Kamekona said.

"One sniff of hard work and he's off," Danny scoffed.

"Running a thriving business on this island is hard work Detective Williams," Kamekona assured him.

"Not that he'd know," Vito muttered.

Steve sent him a sharp look, but decided not to comment. Danny blatantly ignored him. 

"We'll talk later E-Bomb. About... _business_ ," Kamekona said, pointedly. 

It was all Eric could do not to grab the pocket he had shoved the drugs into front of everyone. Instead, he awkwardly threw up a shakra. Kamekona mirrored it as he left.

"Business? Everything okay Eric?" Clara asked. 

"Uh," Eric began. 

He wasn’t entirely sure what lies he could tell without worrying his grandparents. He glanced at Vito for help, but none came. Fortunately, Danny caught a glimpse, and realised that Eric didn't want to talk about it. Once again the subject needed changing.

"Guys, if you could talk and shelve, we'd appreciate it," Danny said.

The others looked around at the books. There was only a few left, and given that Eric, Vito and Kamekona had just been shoving them onto the shelf, they weren't in any particular order. It wouldn't take very long to finish. To fix was another matter.

Danny knelt down to help pick up the lower books. Steve stole a glance at him. Something about how often he dodged questions made his chest tight. They hadn't ever talked about marriage, but Danny had stopped telling their friends that marriage would make them miserable, which was a step in the right direction. Steve knew, he _knew,_ that Grace hadn’t lost her faith in marriage, even if Charlie hadn't developed his. If Danny doubted that, Steve wanted to know why.

He couldn’t ask until way later that night though. Not until he and Danny were in the fold out bed that they had brought after last time Jerry decided he was spending the night and almost broke their couch. That’s a whole other story. Now though, Steve found himself in his living room, laying on a bed beside the man he loved, quietly watching the way he settled against his pillow with a sigh.

Danny laid on his back while Steve laid on his side to watch him. 

"Long day huh?" Danny sighed.

"Mmm," Steve agreed.

"Thanks for letting ma and pop take the bed. It's better for them, no matter what Ma says," Danny continued.

"Mmm..." Steve agreed.

"And Vito's settled in the spare. We might have to move Eric in with him when Charlie comes back, but we should be fine. We should find space for everyone, right?"

"Course we will. You’re planning it. Everything will work out."

"Y'think?"

"Course."

Danny smiled. He rolled over to place a hand on Steve's cheek and push a kiss against his lips. The way Steve was laying meant he could only reach the corner of his mouth, but it still made Steve's insides tingle. 

Danny settled against the pillow again, this time lying to face Steve. He didn't try to struggle against the weight of his eyelids. They were winning anyway. Steve's eyes traced his face as he dozed. He had done it countless times before, each time wondering how on earth he'd managed to get this lucky. How had he managed to get this loud mouthed pig headed over protective angel to fall in love with him? 

"Hey, Danny..."

His voice was soft and curious, but if he had been tempted to ask Danny what he'd done, he chickened out the moment Danny's tired eyes flicked open again. It shouldn't be legal for anything to be so blue. It was far too easy to get lost in them.

"Do you really think Grace wont want to get married?" Steve muttered.

Danny's eyes dimmed for a moment. It was something that had been playing on his mind since he first considered asking Steve to marry him. When his parents had been considering divorce he almost gave up entirely on the whole idea of love and marriage. If it didn't work for his parents, how could it ever work for him? But Grace had actually lived through not one but two divorces. What could possibly keep her believing in marriage after that? 

"I dunno," Danny sighed finally. "I hope she has the options not to marry if she doesn’t want to though."

Steve thought back to when he had looked Grace in the eye and explained, as gently as he could, that he wanted to marry Danny. He had been so nervous he hadn't eaten anything all day. The urge to throw up never left his stomach. But when she lit up, when she gasped, when she threw herself at him, she was excited. So utterly thrilled that she had thrown her entire weight against him, and knocked him off of his feet and into the sand beneath them.

Marriage excited Grace. At least, the idea of his and Danny's did. He couldn’t fathom why Danny would think she wouldn't want it for herself if it became an option. 

"But do you think she doesn't want to?" He asked.

"Steve country to popular belief, not all little girls tell their fathers their wedding plans past the age of ten. They usually wait until they're handing over the bill so the heart attack might be fatal and they can have their inheritance at the same time," Danny huffed bitterly. 

Steve frowned. "Grace isn’t like that."

Danny felt a twinge of guilt at the misunderstanding. "I know, I just mean... weddings are expensive... father of the bride traditionally pays..."

"Rachel's parents paid for yours?" Steve asked. 

"No. No, she wouldn't give me her blessing, you think she'd give me her money? No, I paid," Danny said. 

"Oh."

No matter how dramatically Danny reacted to things, Steve could always find the logic in his reasoning. In this case, it was as simple as expected. Danny was still slightly hurt that Rachel's mother wouldn't give him her blessing, even after he paid money he didn’t have to go all the way to England to ask for it. Part of him still wondered if that was what had cursed him. Nagging doubt was a curse in itself. 

"If Grace has one, I hope it's only one, but I'm not exactly in a position to tell her marriage is the be all and end all am I?" Danny sighed.

Steve's hand crept across the covers to stroke his fingers gently. "Just because your first marriage didn't work out doesn't mean marriage doesn’t."

Danny brushed his fingers back against Steve's, letting them tangle as he moved. "Mine didn't. Rachel and Stan's didn't. Adam and Kono's didn't. Even ma and pop almost failed. Kids see that. Even if you don’t want them to, they see it."

"And then they think marriage is pointless because if it doesn’t work out every time why bother doing it again," Steve sighed as he remembered Charlie.

"Exactly," Danny nodded. 

It still didn’t sit right with Steve that Charlie wasn't excited for the proposal. He wasn't dreading it either though, which Steve was trying to focus on. The boy was indifferent. Which just didn’t seem right. Everyone had to have some kind of opinion over something this big. Hell, Steve's opinion of Aunt Deb's marriage almost prevented it. Why wouldn't Charlie share his?

"So... would you ever get married again?" Steve tried to sound nonchalant, but just asking it rose his blood pressure. 

Danny's chest twinged. Steve asked it just as a curiosity, but it still alarmed him. At least he thought he did. Maybe he was onto him...

Danny tried to keep his cool as he teased, "Is this you proposing?"

"Aunt Deb did say I was never one for romance with a grand gesture," Steve smirked. 

"She was right," Danny laughed. 

Far too easily both of them allowed the subject to slip away so they couldn’t be pressed on it any further. Both remained just as in the dark as ever. That didn't reassure any nerves.

"Seriously though, I don’t think Grace will give up on love so easily. Whoever she ends up with is going to be a stubborn love stuck fool who jumps through hoops for her for sure, but she'll find someone. She'll make it work," Steve assured him.

Danny met his eye again, hopefully, "You think?"

"I dunno, every time we talk about weddings she seems happy," Steve shrugged. 

Danny raised his head to give him a suspicious look to try and hide his thumping heart again. "When you talk about weddings?"

Steve's nodded, firmly holding Danny's gaze because all natural instinct told him to look way. "Yeah well we’ve been to a lot of them. Chin and Malia, Adam and Kono, Aunt Deb and Leonard- not to mention all of those movies she watches."

"Oh yeah, the movies..."

A wistful smile crossed his face as he thought back to the old romantic comedies that Grace liked to watch with Rachel and subsequently Danny was forced to watch. Whether he'd admit it or not - he wouldn't - he had grown quietly fond of them over time. As stupid and corny as they were, they ended happily, and that was all that mattered in the end.

Besides, whenever they watched them together Grace tended to snuggle in between him and Steve to ensure she got the most popcorn, Steve would lean an arm across the couch to keep in contact with him, and Charlie would fall asleep against him before the movie's end. 

It was family time both of them craved and adored, even if they didn't like the genre.

"Maybe they give her hope," Steve offered.

"Maybe..." Danny agreed. Then he sighed again, "maybe its wishful thinking... I don't like the idea if her growing up and moving on. I don’t like the idea of some idiot kid being the most important man in her life. That should be my spot, y’know?"

Steve laughed, which made Danny frown at him, pointedly, so Steve apologised.

"I don't think anyone can replace you Danno," he said.

"Mmm..." Danny muttered, quietly.

He wasn’t convinced, but he appreciated the sentiment. And the way that Steve's fingers idly doodled against his palm. It helped them both to drift off again. Danny gave in to the urge easily, but Steve struggled against it for a while longer. He loved the way Danny looked when he slept. Like he was finally finding peace. Finally able to relax. It was soft and joyous. 

"I love you Danno," Steve murmured. 

"Love you too," Danny murmured back.

His words morphed into little more than a sound, but Steve understood him. He linked his fingers through Danny’s to pull his hand closer and kiss his knuckles gently. As he closed his eyes he made a mental note to ask Eddie for his blessing. It's not like Danny could ask John for his after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Danny left his dressing gown untied as he shuffled down the hallway in fuzzy beige slippers that warmed his feet despite the lack of pants freezing his legs. He rubbed his eyes and yawned as he reached the kitchen table. Steve threw a look over his shoulder as he made pancakes and wolf whistled to see his boyfriends underwear. 

"Looking go-o-o-od Danno!" He beamed.

"Shut up you goof," Danny snorted.

Eddie trotted in through the open door, proudly displaying the newspaper he had fetched between his teeth. Even though he was getting old, he could still remember all his tricks. Who needed new ones when they still won pats. Danny was more than willing to oblige. Once satisfied, the old dog trotted back to the sunny spot on the lalani to doze until he was needed. 

"Sleep well?" Steve asked.

Danny gave him a tired look. "You know I didn't."

A pull out bed in the middle of the living room was hardly comfortable. Besides, with the sound of the waves crashing outside, he hadn't been able to drift off. Unlike Steve. 

Steve set the plate infront of him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. As he moved to pull back Danny latched onto the neck of his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him properly. Steve's smile still grew through their kisses, which still made Danny's knees weak. Steve's hand moved up to cup Danny's cheek gently as he broke away long enough for one stolen kiss to become two. 

"It'll be better tomorrow. It's always easier to sleep when you know Grace is safe," Steve promised. 

If Danny had wanted to argue he couldn't. It was always easier for him to fall asleep knowing that both of his kids were under his roof. That if anything were to happen, he was right there. He was ready to help. Even if it was just a nightmare. 

Steve finished plating his own pancakes and joined Danny at the table. He stole the newspaper from him. He was such an old man that he still read the newspaper every chance he got. Even though it was freely on his phone or the TV, or if it was really important he was probably involved in it, he liked the dedication of print. Danny, however, preferred to drink his coffee in peace. 

"The radio says the storm is moving towards the mainland," Steve read from his newspaper. 

"Let's hope that doesn't affect Grace," Danny said.

"Or your sisters," Steve said.

Danny wrinkled his nose, "I'm more concerned about Grace."

Steve chuckled to himself. Danny's priorities never shifted. Grace and Charlie came first, and then Steve followed. The rest of his family could and did look out of themselves. Danny was always there when they needed him, but if he had a choice, he would always choose Grace. His apron strings would never be cut if he could avoid it.

Steve was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the phone. Danny wondered if the bolt of tension through his chest that came with the sound of the phone ringing would ever fade. It wouldn't. 

"Speak of the devil," Steve grinned.

Danny frowned. "Why does she always call you?"

Steve knew exactly why she always phoned him. There were two reasons. The first one was simple. She was carrying precious cargo for Steve that Danny couldn't know about. The second was slightly harder to explain to Danny, and Steve would never try to. 

Whenever Grace phoned, Danny's immediate assumption was that she was in danger. She could feel it in his tone. It was always just a little too urgent. At first it had been Steve's initial reaction too - why else would she phone him instead of Danny - but he had tamed that part of himself, especially since she left for college. Sometimes she was just lonely or homesick and wanted to talk without having to repeat that she really was okay over and over again. 

The two of them had established a relationship outside of Danny. If Grace wanted to phone, she usually texted to make sure he wasn't busy first. Steve would do all he could to answer that text and the call that would follow. Or if she phoned without warning it was because she needed an answer immediately and couldn't wait. Most of their conversations were through text though, because it was easier for them both to continue their lives while having a conversation that way. Danny disliked texting - goofy thumbs - and avoided it as much as possible, which meant phone calls were a necessity, which was sometimes tiring. Especially when they were full of fear that she wasn't okay, when she was. He never believed her and she could tell.

To put it simply, Steve did not have the separation anxiety that Danny did, and that made him easier to deal with.

"Aloha Gracie," he smiled.

Danny grumbled to himself as he stuffed another piece of pancake into his mouth. 

"Steveo I have a problem," Grace said.

Steve's face fell. "What kind of problem?"

Danny snapped upright in his seat as if someone had yanked a string that was holding him up. He swallowed the pancake as much as he could, but the urgency meant his mouth still wasnt empty when he spoke.

"Problem?" He repeated, muffled.

"Well-"

Grace barely got to breathe before Danny leapt up, snatched the phone from Steve, and set it on loudspeaker. Grace could hear the wack of his thumbs against the screen, and bitter muttering about goofy thumbs and I've got it Steve. She glanced at her travel partner and flashed her a smile to reassure her that everything was okay. It was more for herself then them though. 

"What kind of problem Gracie?! I'll be there the moment you land to fix it, what's your ETA?" Danny demanded. 

Grace did her best not to snort as she explained, "We missed our flight."

"You what?!"

_"What?!"_

Both men sounded as desperate and alarmed as each other, and neither noticed because they were trying so hard not to let the other see their urgency. 

"What happened?" Steve asked. 

"There was a delay on our first flight and we missed the layover. We had to race through the entire airport, and we still missed it," Grace explained.

"Gracie!" Danny groaned.

Even thousands of miles away the tinge of disappointment in her fathers voice sent a wave of guilt crashing through her. She took a deep breath to control it.

"Don't worry, the airline said they'd have us on the next flight out, they put us on a list," she said.

"A list? What number are you on the list?" Danny demanded.

Grace gulped. "Danno-"

"What number Grace?" Danny repeated, firmly. 

Grace groaned inwardly. She winced in preparation as she said, "thirty four."

"THIRTY- Thirty four?!" Danny cried.

Again Grace winced. She hated disappointing Danny, but this was important. She waited for Steve to calm him before trying to continue the conversation. His voice was closer to the microphone now so she knew Danny was pacing again.

"For someone who didn't want to leave the island in case her family needed her, you're a long way from the island when we need you," Steve joked.

She knew he was teasing, but there was a truth to it that stung. Grace tugged at the toggle on her hoodie anxiously. The rings were in a zipped pocket in her hand luggage, totally safe, at her side. Stuck here. In Vancouver. But on loudspeaker, she couldn't tell him that.

"You will be fine," Grace said firmly. She wasn't sure if it was to him, Danny or just to herself anymore. She smiled as she added, "Besides, I'm in Canada. Everyone here is nice, so it's gonna be fun, eh."

Steve snorted. The ability to joke and tease eased both of them. Not Danny though. He took another deep breath to regain control of himself. He took the phone from Steve to talk into the microphone.   
Calmly, but firmly, he warned:

"Monkey I love you and I'm glad you're having fun, but if you come home with a Canadian boyfriend I'm gonna to be so mad that I have to go to Canada to beat him up."

She laughed. Really laughed. That eased his chest to hear. If she was laughing, chances were she was safe. Steve smiled softly as he saw the tension ease from Danny's shoulders. He was mostly joking. That meant things couldn't be that bad.

"I love you too Danno," she said.

"Alright, Grace, what's the plan? When's the next flight and do you think you can get on it?" Steve asked seriously. 

"And where's your luggage?" Danny asked.

"Oh, _that's_ on its way to Hawaii. That got boarded, we just weren't with it," Grace laughed.

She had to laugh. If she didn't find the funny in this, she might just go mad.

"I'll send someone to pick that up," Steve assured her.

"So have you got clothes to change into? Are you warm enough?" Danny insisted. 

"Danno, I'm only going to be in Vancouver airport for the next four hours, I think I'll be okay," she said.

"Have you eaten?" He insisted. 

"Yes," she said.

"Have you got money? In case you're kept there too long and you get hungry?" Danny insisted. 

Grace looked down at her bag. Mary's packed lunch was still tucked inside. She had eaten the fruit before she even got to the airport, but there was a chocolate bar left inside.

"I'm sure I'll make do," she assured him.

Danny began to argue that if she needed money to get home then she needed to tell him right now so he could send it. He was right in the middle of explaining how he needed her home _before_ Thanksgiving, while trying not to explain to Steve _why_ he needed her so urgently, when Eddie walked down the stairs. His father, not the dog.

"Everything okay?" He asked.

"Ah, Eddie, sorry, did we wake you?" Steve asked. 

The answer to that was simple. Danny's frantic attempts at sounding cool, calm and collected had woken up everyone. The only person who hadn't noticed how desperate and mildly manic he was sounding, was Steve, because Steve was too busy trying to hide his own manic desperation to notice Danny's. 

"I'm a retired old man. I wake up this early every morning. What's going on?" Eddie asked.

Steve tapped Danny's shoulder, "Um, hey Danno, why don't you take this outside?"

"No, no, Gracie, I'm serious, just pay the extra and come home _now!"_

Danny didn't respond to Steve in any way beyond moving out onto the lalani. He slammed his door behind him. Steve sighed. He had faith that if anyone could get home before Thanksgiving, Grace could, but the bubble of doubt in him head disturbed him. This was important. She had the rings. He couldn't ask Danny without her.

She'd never forgive him if he did.

"Gracie in trouble?" Eddie asked.

"Nah, she'll be fine. She's just missed her flight so she'll be later home than expected," Steve explained. 

"Can she afford to change flights?" Eddie asked.

"We can sort that, don't worry," Steve assured.

Steve glanced at the door as Danny paced back and forth outside. Between them they had enough money to get her home, but the question was whether or not there was a plane to get her here. Steve sucked his lip as he thought to himself. To get himself home from New Jersey he had blagged a ride with a military flight heading this way anyway. That had required his dog tags just to get him on site though, he couldn't guarantee that it would work for Grace and it definitely wouldnt extent to her friends. She wasn't the kind of girl who left her friends in a club without being sure they could get home safe, they would never get her out of Canada without them. He drummed a knuckle against his palm anxiously. Eddie watched him curiously. 

"Everything okay son? You seem nervous," Eddie said.

"I am nervous," Steve sighed, "I really need Grace to get on that plane, I need her here."

Eddie arched an eyebrow. "You do huh? Any particular reason why?"

"Two actually. Grace is a killer at tackling, she's got a wirey strength that can get the ball from anyone and I really need her on my team to beat Danno," Steve forced a smile. 

"You want her home for a football game?" Eddie repeated suspiciously. 

Hearing it back Steve wrinkled his nose. "No, I want her home because I miss her."

Which was true. Since Grace had finally forgiven him for leaving, the two of them had crammed in as much quality time together between him returning to O'ahu and her going to college as possible. In that time he kept catching glimpses of himself in her. Little things like military phrases that had infiltrated their way into both Danny's and her every day language. They followed old Jersey slang he didn't understand, and lead to the odd bit of pidgin she'd picked up through living on the island. Probably from Kamekona.

Once, when Danny was at work and Charlie was at school, they went deep sea diving. Just them, the sea, and the sun.

Grace drove into the water like an expert. Steve had taught her how when she was young. He sat on the boat and watched her swim. She was pretending to be a mermaid. Just messing around with her hair floating out around her, kicking her legs like they were one solid tail.

It struck him then how easily she shimmered between the child he had always known and the woman she was quickly growing into. Caught between the two. He wondered if he had ever looked like that. Caught somewhere between a boy and a man. Only Joe would be able to tell him, and he couldn't.

At least he could see it in Grace.

Steve had been there for so much of her life that he wondered if the time he missed even mattered. Eight years of living in Jersey, most of which she didn't remember herself, seemed unimportant these days. Ignoring them, he had been there the whole time and she really was his daughter. Then all too soon she had left for college.

Now he missed her just as much as Danny did. The difference was that he missed Grace as she was. The young adult she was proving herself to be. Danny missed the child he would always see her as.

"Is that the second reason? Missing her?" Eddie asked, plainly. 

Steve blinked nervously. "Not... fully..."

Eddie frowned and folded his arms across his chest. "Son for someone who faces bullets on a daily basis you're very quick to anxiety. Do you just wanna fill me in on why it's so important to you in particular that Grace comes home soon?"

"Yes... um..."

Steve had once tracked an armed fugitive across the stadium and climbed into a helicopter while it was taking off, defeated everyone on board and landed it mostly undamaged, without any help from anyone else and without breaking a sweat. When he wasn't thinking, when his actions only affected himself, he couldn’t care less. But talking about matters of the heart affected others. It affected the kids, and it affected Danny. After Rachel's mother said he wasn't good enough for her, it had niggled at him enough to destroy his marriage. Steve didn’t want it to happen again, and he didn’t want it to happen to him. With that in mind, once again he was a bundle of nerves.

"I've already asked Grace and Charlie, but um... well, see, I'd like your blessing," Steve explained.

Eddie blinked in surprise. "My blessing?"

"To uh, to, to propose," Steve nodded.

"To who?! To Danny?!" Eddie asked urgently.

 _"Shhhh!_ Now I know where Eric gets it from," Steve rolled his eyes.

"You want to marry my son?" Eddie grinned.

"I... do - why are you laughing?" Steve asked.

Eddie tried to stifle the laughter behind his hand, but he couldn't help it. Something about this whole situation just amused him. The surprise of it was a delight, even though it was almost exactly what he had been expecting. Why else would they want to take on Thanksgiving? Still, the fact that the Navy SEAL of all people was asking him for Danny's hand, and looking terrified at the idea, tickled him. 

"Sorry, sorry, its just..." Eddie could help laughing again, "of all the people who I ever thought would ask my permission, it wasn't you. You don’t seem to live a very traditional life, and you definitely don't care about permission with all those unsanctioned-"

Steve's eyes widened as he urgently hissed, "Danny told you about those?!" 

They were not legal. They were highly confidential. They should not be known about.

"No, Clara did. Danny tells her everything," Eddie reminded him.

Steve rolled his eyes. Typical. Danny could never resist telling his mother secrets for long, but he thought illegal military operations were something to avoid mentioning. 

"Um, Eddie, I know it's hard to keep secrets from your wife-"

Eddie waved a hand without much of a care, "I understand, I'll do my best to keep this from her."

"That easily?" Steve sounded surprised again.

Eddie shrugged, "you learn how to avoid topics when you've been married for a while. I'm sure it'll be fine."

Steve nodded. He shifted again, waiting awkwardly for Eddie to continue. He wasn't sure if he could find the words to ask again, but he needed an answer. Eddie amused himself by watching Steve's discomfort grow as he pretended to consider his options. 

"For what its worth - do you remember when I gave you the keys to my car so you could drive all the way to the airport to catch Danny’s flight and tell him you loved him?"

"Of course I do," Steve nodded.

"Do you remember how it nearly killed me?"

"My driving is fine-"

"Well, that was my blessing son."

Steve blinked in surprise. The simplicity of it stole his half plotted argument from him. Eddie chuckled to himself. Steve still seemed surprised that they were so accepting of him.

"Of course you can marry him. I'm surprised you've waited this long to ask," Eddie smiled.

Steve beamed back at him. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest. Now the only person he needed to ask was Danny himself. That hit him like a bullet to the chest. 

"It has to be perfect. I’m not even certain Danny wants to get married again if I'm honest. Last time I planned to propose to someone who wasn't ready to settle, it didn't end well," Steve admitted.

Eddie arched an eyebrow at Steve. He had been aware that Steve had had a strong relationship with Catherine - he had heard Danny lamenting about it to Clara long before he ever realised he was in love - but he hadn't realised how deeply it went. 

"You and I don't talk much do we? We should rectify that some time," Eddie said. 

"We've got all week," Steve said. 

"So we do," Eddie agreed.

Both dropped the topic the moment Danny returned with a sigh, complaining, "Well she’s as pig headed as her step father. She says she won't come home on another flight if it means leaving her friends behind. Their Thanksgiving plans are more important than mine apparently!"

"Isn’t it great that you’ve raised such an independent, strong minded, loyal daughter?" Steve corrected.

Danny put his hands on his hips. "Don't twist this into a good thing, this is not good, I need her home Steve! I should never have let you talk me into letting her travel."

"She’s having fun Danny," Steve's argued, "and she's paid for most of it with the money she's making from the job she got on her own. Because she's _responsible._ She deserves-"

" _I know_! You already twisted my arm once, no need to do it again," Danny warned. 

Steve decided that it wasn't worth the argument and took Eddie's advice. He changed the subject entirely. 

"I was just saying to Eddie here, maybe we should give him a ride along too. Clara's already been on one-" 

Danny’s gaze narrowed. "You already risked my mothers life, now you wanna risk pop too? What, my family too alive for you?"

He was on edge, stressed out about Grace, and not fully thinking. The words fell from his mouth like knives without him knowing what he was really saying. Not until Steve's face fell. 

"Bit harsh Danno," Steve muttered.

Danny felt a stab of guilt, and he at least had the courtesy to look sheepish as he realised what he had said.

"Sorry... sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Danny mumbled apologetically. 

Steve licked his lips as he shrugged it off. Eddie watched the two of them quietly apologise away a potential argument in a way that Danny never had with Rachel. Whatever side stepping of conflict had happened with her wouldn't happen here. That gave Eddie renewed hope in the pair of them.

Love was one thing, but it took communication and compromise to make a marriage work. That was something that he had learned the hard way.

"D'you want me to call Rachel and ask to pick up Charlie early? Will that help you calm down?" Steve asked. 

"I..."

Danny did want Steve to get Charlie. He wanted his son back home, but that felt clingy. Selfish even. It was Rachel's time with him after all, and she was missing Grace just as much as he was. Besides, the house was already full. Danny's gaze moved past Steve towards the door, where Eric was sneaking out. Something in his attempt at subtlety rose Danny's suspicions. 

"Eric? Where are you going?" Danny asked.

His tone naturally fell back to a pointed fatherly voice that he rarely got to use on Grace. She was usually open about where she was going and who with. Eric was less so. He clutched the bag of white powder hard behind his back as he tried to keep calm.

"Out," he shrugged, as casually as he could.

"At this time of morning?" Eddie snorted.

"Out where?" Danny demanded. 

"Too... see... a client," Eric lied.

"A client huh?" Danny repeated, disdainfully, "This client of yours, will she have her clothes on this time?"

Eric's shoulders eased. If the suspicions laying around him where whether or not a model was naked and not about the potential drugs in his hand, there was a chance he could still escape.

"You don’t understand art uncle D," Eric said.

"Naked women isn't art Eric. You’re supposed to be capturing some form of essence or telling a story or whatever, not keeping them as props. You're using them like barbies," Danny argued.

"Maybe that's what I'm going for, how would you know?" Eric challenged.

Danny opened his mouth to argue again, but Steve stepped in. Danny could say what he liked to Steve while mad, but he and Eric had made some progress in their relationship recently, and they didn’t need to backslide just because Grace missed her flight.

"Just make sure you call if you’re gonna get back late. We'll leave the door unlocked," Steve said.

"Maybe you will," Danny muttered. 

"Be nice, he’s family," Steve muttered back. 

"So's pop and you just told me you want to him on a ride along!" Danny argued.

"I was a firefighter for decades Daniel, your small town cop ways wont hurt me any," Eddie interrupted.

"Ma didn't tell you about the hostage situation huh?" Danny scoffed. 

"Which one?" Eddie asked.

"Exactly," Danny said, pointedly. 

While the men were distracted, Eric tucked the bag into his back pocket and edged towards the door again.

"I'll be back on time for dinner, I promise," he insisted. 

"We're having pie crust, like that promise," Danny said sarcastically. 

"Make it a humble one then so you can eat it too!" Eric met his sarcasm.

Before he could argue again, Eric slipped out of the door, leaving Steve chuckling to himself as he went.

"That was good, that was funny," Steve grinned. 

Danny gave him a dark look. "Was it?"

Steve sighed, "You gotta let this go man. You can't protect Grace at all times, you know that. She’s perfectly safe-"

"She's safer here. Home. With us," Danny countered sharply.

"Maybe so, but I'm proud of her for staying with her friends. Who else is going to protect them? She gets that from you y’know," Steve said.

Danny hummed dubiously, "Yeah... yeah..."

Everything seemed to be rolling along the edge of a spiral. He wasn't sure if he could stop it before it started. At the end of the day all he needed was Grace, Charlie and Steve. Even if everything else went wrong - and that was the way things seemed to be going - as long as all four of them ended up together at the traditional football match, he could deal with everything else later.

Steve eyed Danny carefully. He always kept his demeanour as cool as he could, it was hard to see when it was shaking, but sometimes it came through in small ways that Steve was always keen to pick up on. Like when he knew his barbs were a little too cutting and apologised for not stopping himself. Or when he ran his hand through his hair like that. Or when he put his hands on his hips like that was the only thing keeping him upright and together.

Steve quietly tugged Danny's hand away from his hip to tuck his hand into it. Danny clung to it without fully noticing how tight it was. Eddie smiled to himself as he left to make some coffee. 

Those two goofs were going to be just fine.

...

Standing in line to visit the lab, Eric drummed his fingers against his rucksack. He knew Kevin quite well, the two of them would talk sometimes in the break room back when he worked here, but he didn't appear to be on duty. That meant that if someone asked what the bag contained, he was going to have to explain himself. If they didn’t believe him, they'd call someone to check. Probably HPD. Who would tell Duke. Who would tell Danny. 

Danny would not be pleased. 

Eric bottled it. 

He slipped out of the line as his heart beat hard and his hands felt clammy, clutching onto his bag like his life depended on it. Instead, he stood outside to take a deep breath and regain control of himself. It was hard. He couldn’t quite find his breath, even when he slid down against the wall.

"Eric?"

His heart thumped to hear his name. He definitely didn't want anyone to see him like this. The thundering blood rushing through his ears made his head spin. When he glanced up, his eyes couldn’t focus on who he was seeing, but he had recognised her voice.

"Hey Noe," he said 

He tried to force himself to sound cheerful but it was tight. Noelani recognised the symptoms immediately. She leaned down to sit beside him. 

"What're you doing here?" She asked. 

"I'm just admiring the old place. Good times, y’know," Eric lied.

"You look like you’re having a panic attack," She said.

"Panic attack? Me? No way, I'm way too strong for that," he scoffed.

"Uh, huh..." she eyed him uncertainly, "hey, have you tried holding your breath?"

"Huh?"

"Hold you breath and let it out slow. It'll constrict your breathing and force your heart rate to slow."

Eric hated the idea of looking vulnerable in front of her, but he needed her help so he held his breath like she said. He couldn’t hold it for long before the screaming in his head forced him to pant again, but he tried again, and again, and each time he could hold it a little longer. His breathing slowed back into control. He couldn’t hide the way it made his cheeks flush though.

"Better?" Noelani asked.

"Uh huh... mahalo."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Oh... okay..."

Noelani looked down at her shoes. The two of them sat on the ground together in silence for a moment or two as she tapped her toes together. She didn't want to leave Eric alone yet. Even if his panic attack had passed, he might still need someone to talk to. Just for reassurance. 

"Y’know, I used to have panic attacks like that all the time," she said, breezily.

Eric glanced towards her hesitantly. 

"I kinda believe that. No offence, but you’re like the mouse-y-est person I've ever met," Eric said. 

"That’s not a word," Noelani said.

"Y’know what I mean," Eric said.

"I do. And I get it. Its funny really," Noelani smiled to herself.

Eric blinked. None of this was funny to him. He felt like his chest was a hollow cavity, and his lungs burned and his legs were too weak to stand. None of this felt funny.

"What is?" He asked. 

Noelani shrugged breezily, "Me, I guess. I - I get so nervous in certain places, and other places where I should be nervous, I'm not. Like... it took me like three days to get the nerve to ask McGarrett if I could borrow his dog for the day, but I walked straight into this office and stole a heart valve, and walked right back out with all the confidence I could find, and the guards believed me. We performed open heart surgery at gunpoint, and my hands never shook, but one night looking for Bo Bradley and I didn't sleep for a week!"

Eric felt a little guilty for jumping to conclusions, but hearing the way she laughed at her own traumas eased his shoulders. At least he wasn’t alone.

"To be fair, that ended with someone trying to burn us alive," he pointed out.

"True. Still, if Jerry hadn't come over to help me sleep, I don't know if I'd be able to even now," Noelani said earnestly.

Eric nodded along with her. "Jerry's a good dude."

Noelani nudged him gently with her shoulder. "So are you."

Eric tilted his head to look at her, surprised. "Am I?"

Her face fell, concerned, "Don’t you think so?"

"Well... I dunno, I guess... I guess I never thought about it..."

Eric thought back to the times he was handcuffed to a seat in the New Jersey precinct waiting for his uncle to come in and yell at him. After Danny got him into the car he'd start the same lecture, so often Eric could still remember parts of it. He could remember glancing away from the rear view mirror too. God forbid he made eye contact with Danny. When he did he could see the disappointment in them, which made him feel worse. 

_"How'd you expect to go anywhere in life if you pull crap like this all the time huh? You wanna end up a no good goof who can't get a real job because you've got no schooling, no experience - all you'll be good for is being some idiots putz! D'you want to be doing his crimes from him, so he gets off scott free and you rot in jail, huh?! Is that what you want Eric?! You wanna be some goof's putz?! Is that all you’re good for?!"_

The irony was that it was after arguments like that that Vito would turn up to Eric's bedroom (where he locked himself in and refused to talk to anyone) and bring him food since he hadn’t eaten all day, and tell him to wise up and not get caught next time. Sometimes he even looked over Eric's plans and advised him what to change and where to avoid getting caught. That was what lead Eric to learn how to hijack Vito's car, and others in addition later. 

Which got him sent here. 

To Danny.

Full time.

"Everything I've ever done has been because someone else wanted me to, or to prove I could, or because I was bored. I stole a car cause I was bored, it got me sent here. I helped Uncle D solve crimes because I could and no one cared. Uncle V wanted me to steal a reindeer, so I tried... Even Steve doesn't trust me to be his best man-"

"Steve's getting married?"

Eric blinked slowly as he turned to look at Noelani. The innocent look of surprise on her face quelled the irritation of her interruption. 

"He's proposing," he explained.

"Good for him!" She beamed. 

"Noe, I'm kinda in the middle of something here," Eric pointed out.

"Sorry, carry on," she said.

She folded her arms across her stomach and watched him, patiently, so she could listen as he continued. Eric sighed.

"It doesn't matter. Danny told me I could be a photographer so I tried to prove it, now I’ve got a flooded apartment and I’m renting a studio I can barely afford without Kamekona. Kamekona wants me to run these through the lab to find out what they are, and I can't even get through the door... Every time I’ve not been able to do something the consequences mean nothing. This time, if things go wrong, I've lost everything Noe. I’m gonna lose my apartment. My studio. Any respect Uncle D had for me, it'll all be gone because of these."

He pulled the bag from his pocket and tossed it to her. She picked it up curiously, adjusting her glasses as she did. Noelani prodded at the powder through the plastic, trying to feel how fine the granules were. The urge to identify them was immediate, but her shift had finished for the day.

"You came here to test these in the lab for Kamekona?" She repeated, surprised.

"He and Uncle V found them in his restaurant, he doesn’t want anyone to know," Eric explained.

"Not even Detective Williams?"

"Especially not Uncle D."

She handed them back, saying, "Y’know the lab's shut for Thanksgiving right? The place is only open for emergencies until Saturday."

Eric stared at her. "You've gotta be kidding!"

"Sorry Eric, we can't run these," she apologised.

Eric groaned as he took them back. "So what now? I gotta take them back to Uncle D and McGarrett and keep them hidden for three days?"

"If you tell them the truth I'm sure they'll understand," Noelani urged, sympathetically. 

"No way," Eric scoffed, "If they find out there are potential drugs in their house, they're gonna kick me out. I just told you I have nowhere else to go. I can't disappoint my uncle again."

"Won't it be more disappointing if they find out you brought drugs in _and_ lied about it?" Noelani asked.

Eric's chest tightened. There was a shooting pain across it that made him clutch at his chest. His mind went back to seeing Vito crumple to his knees when his heart fought back.

"My heart hurts - is this what a heart attack feels like?"

"No Eric, that’s another panic attack, breath with me okay? I’m going to put my hand on your shoulder, look at me - okay, and breathe..."

Noelani talked Eric through his second panic attack, rubbing circles into his back between his shoulder blades with her hand as she did. With her help it was easier to catch his breath. He definitely did not like this though. 

"All those crimes we've faced together and I've never seen you like this Eric. Is everything okay?" Noelani asked earnestly. 

Usually Eric could brush off concern. He didn’t need people worrying about him. Especially not his mother. Everything always got back to her in the end. Especially if Danny got involved. Unless Vito could block him from finding out.

But none of them ever looked at him like Noelani was right now. Behind her glasses her eyes were sympathetic. Concerned. Genuinely. Eric melted inside. He couldn’t lie to her. He just couldn’t.

"Everything’s on the brink... I can see it about to start falling around me, and I don’t know what I can do to stop it," he sighed.

He ran his hands though his hair as he did, making it spike up like a coconut. 

"Is the studio okay?" Noelani asked. 

"The studio is the only thing that is okay, but even then I don’t have models. I don’t have a muse. I’m just..." he trailed off as he thought of Danny. 

"Just?" Noelani repeated. 

Eric sighed as he repeated, "Using naked models as barbies..."

There was a beat as she took in what he had said and processed it. 

"Is it like a take on modern consumerism and Instagram culture turning women into doll versions of themselves in a search for societal acceptance?" Noelani asked, eagerly.

Eric frowned. She looked so interested in the idea that he didn’t want to disillusion her.

"No," he said, slowly.

"Good, because I feel like that's slightly over played and still panders to the stereotypical uniform petite white blonde market because it still only features them, even when parodying them-"

"Noelani?"

"Hmmm?"

She always hummed when she was cut off from her rambling. Another innocent blink came with it. He gulped nervously. 

"I think I might only be good for crime scene photography," Eric admitted.

"What? No way!" Noelani argued, "Detective Williams showed me that photo you took a Christmas, it's gorgeous. You have a real talent, don’t get in your own way like that.

"But-"

"But nothing. Kamekona uses your photos doesn’t he? He pays for your work doesn’t he? So he believes in you. And Jerry asked you to take the photo for his back page, which you did, and that's sold over five hundred thousand copies! That’s five hundred thousand people who have seen your work alone. Jerry believes in you. And so do I. You just need to find your niche, and I don't think barbies is it."

Eric glanced up at her. She could tell in an instant that his usual confidence was edging back into him.

"Ythink?" He asked. 

She smiled. "I really do."

"Thanks Noe..."

"No problem E-Train."

The two of them took a moment to appreciate the height of sentimentality, before both bursting into laughter. There was no explanation for it beyond the need to laugh off the shadow hanging over them.

"Hey, why don’t you ask Steve if you can photograph the proposal?!" Noelani gasped as if the idea had just come to her, "You know what tourists are like, there's loads of proposals out here! going commercial like that might help you build a portfolio, or maybe just, y’know, pay the rent? And if you can't do that-"

"I need to call my landlord and tell him its flooded. Doesn’t he legally have to put me up somewhere while he fixes the place up?" Eric asked hopefully. 

"Probably, I don’t know, I'm a coroner, not a lawyer," Noelani shrugged.

"Danny'll know. I'll ask him what he thinks later," Eric said, firmly.

"If your landlord doesn't, Jerry's looking for a house sitter for when he goes on his book tour," she said.

Eric grinned at her. Of course he was. He had been looking for weeks! Not only that, Jerry didn’t much like living alone. He was almost constantly looking for roommates.

"Noelani you’re a genius," he declared.

"I'm- I'm not really-" she began.

"Mahalo." He clapped her shoulder as he sprung to his feet. To look at him now you wouldn’t think a panic attack had happened seconds before. He paused as he glanced back, "Oh - Noe, about the uh, the - the _drugs_ -"

"I'm not telling anyone anything unless they ask me directly," Noelani said. 

Eric's face fell, "Aw, Noe-"

"If they ask me directly I’m not going to lie Eric. I’m just not," She warned firmly.

There was no point in arguing, and he owed her enough already, so Eric flashed her another smile, "Fair enough. I'll see you at the game!"

"Good luck," she called after him.

As Eric saluted her, he turned away to head for his truck. Behind him, an unfamiliar voice, dripping with charm, approached Noelani as she rose to her feet. She didn’t sound impressed. 

"Noelani! My favourite island coroner! Have I told you how pretty you look today?"

"My shift is over magnum, don’t try it."


	7. Chapter 7

The trouble with Danny being the only person left to ask was that now there was no one else to hide behind. Steve had to face the reality that he had to propose now. Now that he really had to do it he realised he had no idea how to. Fortunately, he had agreed to give Adam and Kono a lift to the airport, and at least one of them had done this before.

"How did you propose?" Steve asked.

"Well, I don’t really remember," Adam admitted, "I remember sitting on the lalani a year after we got home from being on the run after I shot my brother to save you, and you saying you wouldn’t marry me-"

"Because you had yakuza ties in your businesses still! Wo Fat had ties to your business - I was a cop, I couldn't risk the implications!" Kono insisted.

"The implications? After you followed me on the lam right after getting your badge back, the implications were there," Adam argued.

Kono had claimed the shotgun seat so she had to twist to look at Adam in the back. "The implications there were that we'd be together. That you wouldn’t run off to be on your own-"

"To keep you safe!" Adam argued, laughing.

"And how did that work out?" Kono challenged.

Adam smiled affectionately. Even now the love shone through his eyes when he smiled at her. "The greatest moment of my life was when you walked into that kitchen in Vancouver and told me it was all over."

Kono smiled back. She chuckled affectionately as she settled back into the front seat. Steve's chest warmed for the two of them. Even though he and Adam had had a rocky start to their friendship, the two of them had grown fond of each other, and Adam was never the same without Kono. Now she was back, it was as though he could finally settle back into himself with her beside him. They were the best versions of themselves when they were together. 

"Best day of mine was the day before new years eve last year. It might sound cheesy but... I dunno, that first kiss was it for me. Even if I wasn’t in love before, it was that moment that I realised I couldn’t leave home again," Steve said.

"I for one am glad you’re back boss," Kono said.

"I’m not your boss anymore Kono," Steve pointed out.

"No, but were you ever really before either?" Kono smirked. 

Steve had to laugh. "Fair point. I guess people don’t really change, huh?"

"I don’t know about that, I mean, we changed," Adam gestured to himself and Kono, "We became two very different people and we split up because of it."

"Yeah, but we're back together now," Kono said. 

"Because it's only ever been you. That hasn’t changed. But Steve changed. When we first met he was a stubborn, crazed lone wolf who's only priority was finding Hesse- No offence," Adam paused to rest a hand on the shoulder of Steve's chair.

"None taken," Steve assured. 

"Now he's a sap," Adam continued. 

"Some taken," Steve frowned. 

"Priorities change then," Kono said, ignoring Steve, "Steve's changed from Hesse to Danny, and in doing so he had to open up more, but he hasn’t _changed._ He’s still the same boss man who punched a guy out for trying to flip me."

"He had it coming. I stand by it," Steve said stubbornly. 

He meant it too. Just thinking about the amount of people who kept trying to pull apart the broken ohana he had stitched together pissed him off. Even now. The world had been against them repeatedly, he was desperate to prove them wrong. Steve went ignored as Kono continued. 

"What makes couples work is when two people choose to keep each other as a priority. I lost sight of that. I got lost in my work-"

Adam cut her off with a gentle stubbornness as he said, "But like you said, we're solid now. We need to move past this. Let go of that guilt."

"I know. I'm not guilty. I’m proud of what I did, I'm just sorry it cost us so much time for me to be able to do it. And that you went through everything alone," Kono said. 

"That was my choice. I don’t regret it," Adam said firmly. 

Kono rolled her eyes and shook her head but she appreciated it. As awful as it felt to know that Adam had been forced to go through a whole catalogue of catastrophes that he could have avoided if she had stayed and he cut all gang ties like they had planned, it was done now. There was nothing they could do to change what had happened. She did her best to let it go.

"What’s your current plan?" Kono asked curiously. 

"Does Steve every have a plan? I thought he just made things up as he went," Adam joked.

Kono flashed him a grin, but said nothing. Steve was excellent at meticulous planning - he had done dozens of ops that relied on it - but sometimes the best plans were made up on the fly. After all, even the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. 

"I don't know. The idea of asking him terrifies me, but I’ve already asked everyone else. There is no going back, so it has to be perfect," Steve said seriously. 

"You two have known each other for years now, I'm sure whatever your choose, however you do it, you'll be together for the rest of your lives either way," Adam assured him.

It had become easy to control his microexpressions over the years and countless sting operations. Even looking Steve directly in the eye, he could pretend he didn't know anything that Danny was planning. Which was unfortunate when Steve sighed.

"People change and relationships don’t last..."

"That’s the opposite of what we just said," Kono frowned.

Steve knew. He shrugged one shoulder as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. "Danny said it once. Ages ago. Before he broke up with Gabby."

"Oh yeah, Gabby! She was nice, I liked her," Kono said. She hadnt thought about her in years and that came through in her voice.

"He said people change too much for relationships to last. It happened to you two. What if it happens again? What if he says no and we can't get back from that and it ruins everything?" Steve asked.

His grip on the wheel tightened as he clenched his jaw and shifted nervously in his seat. Adam arched an eyebrow at the rear-view mirror.

"Are you getting cold feet Steve? I thought when you put your mind to things, you never backed out of them."

"Danny always said that marriage was a bad idea because relationships don’t last. If that's what he thinks, I can't disagree. He’s got more experience. If I ask him to marry me and he says no, what then?" 

It was a rhetoric question, but actually voicing the thoughts niggling at the back of his mind made him face them. He didn't know how long they'd been back there, but when they left his mouth, he felt sick. Kono glanced over at him. She could see the nerve in him. The way his muscles tensed as he gripped the wheel and his jaw tightened as he clenched it repeatedly. She had worked with him for years, side by side, they had lost their jobs together, sacrificed themselves for the good of the ohana, and yet back then he had nerves of steel. It was endearing to see how soft the old man had gotten while she'd been away. 

"I don’t know," she said, honestly. "The only way you can know what's going on with Danny is to talk to him. It's terrifying and awful and humiliating, but it's the only way forward."

Steve groaned to himself. Vulnerability was probably the only thing that actually terrified him. Besides losing his ohana anyway.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"It'll be fine, just as long as you make sure it's something _Danny_ likes to do," Adam assured him.

"That’s not much," Kono smirked.

"Hey, he's getting better. He likes paddle boarding, and he'll surf if the ohana go with him. It's just, y’know, the sea and the sand and coconuts and pineapples he doesn’t like," Steve countered. 

"Is that all?" Kono laughed. 

"It doesn't leave much. A romantic sunset walk on the beach is out of the question," Adam warned.

"Yeah... what'd I do man?" Steve sighed heavily. 

Kono and Adam shared a look. Kono wanted to try and reassure him, but she also needed to be realistic. It was the main thing that got her to keep going through each trafficking raid. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Five-O taught her that. Now she was home though, she wanted to be the optimist she had been before she left. That left Adam to voice her thoughts. 

"Sorry but it's not up to us Steve," Adam shrugged,

Kono nodded, "It's not up to any or us. Sometimes you just have to risk it."

"Is it a risk worth taking?" Steve asked.

"Are you a gambling man?" Adam asked.

"Have you seen him play poker?" Kono snorted.

"Please. I’m begging you. Just tell me what to do," Steve groaned. 

"We can't!" Adam insisted. 

"I can, here’s what you do. You man up. Walk up to the man that you’ve been in love with for as long as I have known you, and you just _ask_ him if he wants to get married. _C_ _lear_ communication Steve. If you don’t have it now, the marriage will fall apart. Stop being such a baby and just do it," Kono said stubbornly. 

Steve’s mind trailed back to their arguments over Christmas. Grace had told both on them in no uncertain terms that open and honest communication like grown ups was the only thing that would make them work. She was such a smart kid. Now, however, he couldn't help wondering if she'd learned it from Kono. 

She hadn't.

Even at the tender age of eighteen Grace had lived long enough to see the damage a lack of communication caused. All the arguments between her parents that could easily have been avoided was enough to prove it, but having Steve in her life pushed for it. He was always talking about how much easier things would be - cases and red tape and his family to name a few - if people just talked to each other directly like they had in the navy.

Of course when Junior joined the ranks and proved that talking things out wasn't exactly a soldiers strong point - especially if pride got in the way - she called bull on the idea that the navy communicated at all.

Which was yet another reason the family was so keen on communication now.

"Do you think there's a chance he'll say no?" Steve asked quietly.

"There’s always a chance-" Kono began. 

Adam cut her off firmly, "No. He'll say yes. I’m sure of it."

Steve glanced at him in the rear-view mirror. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll bet my Ferrari on it," Adam smirked.

Even with Kono quietly glaring at Adam in the reflection, he held firm. Steve smiled as he felt his chest ease again.

"Mahalo brother, that’s all I needed to hear."

They reached the airport and Steve parked up to help them drag their luggage out onto the curb. Their goodbyes were short and sweet, until it came to Steve and Kono. When the two of them hugged goodbye, it was slightly tighter than it should have been. Both had a tendency to wander at will. That made it harder to keep in touch. Every time they parted, they were vividly aware that they couldn't be certain when or even if they'd see each other again.  
Every hug goodbye meant it, just in case.

"We will be back before you know it," Adam assured Steve. 

Steve smiled and nodded, but he had heard that before. Kono gave him a slightly sheepish smile. She had every intention of coming home, but part of her had accepted that priorities change. She tried never to make promises anymore. Steve was probably the only person who loved her more for that.   
No promises, no guarantees, no false hope. He was an old man who had been lied to before and was tired of it now. If she never made promises she never lied to him.

Once Steve had gone, Adam picked up the handle of the case to roll it behind him, and smiled at Kono. His smile fell when he saw how her hands sat on her hips.

"What?" He asked innocently.

Kono gestured to the space where Steve' car had been, "Rule one of talking to the family-"

Adam chuckled to himself, "I can promise Steve Danny will say yes-"

"I think he will too, but if he does now say no for some reason-"

"Danny told me he's proposing to Steve."

Kono fell silent. Her jaw was slack as she took in the new information. 

"He is?" She asked in surprise. 

"Dyou think I can promise him now?" Adam smirked.

She shifted her weight onto one leg and folded her arms. "I really hope he'll say yes then."

Adam laughed and shook his head as he headed towards the airport doors, dragging the luggage behind him. When they got to the check in line, it was as though they were surrounded by couples. People showing off their engagement rings on video calls home, people kissing like no one else was around wearing their new wedding rings, people subtly checking ring boxes to make sure they hadn’t been damaged in the flight, old couples still linking their pinkie fingers as they wandered towards their gates - love was in the air. It usually was in Hawaii. This time, it brought a question with it. 

Adam thoughtfully tapped the spot on his finger where he used to twist his wedding ring. He didn't even notice until Kono's hand brushed across his.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

Adam took a moment to consider brushing off his thoughts, but he decided against it. They had agreed to talk more after all.

"Can I ask... what made you change your mind? When you agreed to marry me, I mean." 

Kono pursed her lips as she thought. It had been a long time since the day she agreed to marry him. The specific reason why didn’t exist. It was more a case of, well why not? But if there was one thing that kicked her into actually accepting that, then it came with an apology in the form of baked goods and a speech about how awesome Adam was.

"Honestly? Jerry," she said.

Whatever answer Adam had expected, it wasn't that. "Jerry?"

She smiled and nodded as she perched on top of the suitcase. "Yeah! He had a real man crush on you - you were like one step below Steve! He was going on about how great you are and then someone said it wasn’t fair to string you along if I still couldn't commit after all that time and I..."

Kono trailed off with an exhale. There wasn't an end to that sentence. Back then, the idea of not being with Adam at all times felt like torture. Then she had seen what torture really was. After that, it came to a choice between stringing Adam along at a distance, or giving up her work saving innocent girls from a lifetime of horrors. 

It was a painful decision, but an easy one.

"That's what you said when we got divorced," Adam said, quietly.

She shrugged. "It stuck with me. It's not fair to float along with someone and never seal the deal, is it?" 

"Even if it leads to divorce papers?" He asked.

Kono stood up again. Her hands moved into his like they were gloves, "There's no one else Adam. No one person can ever replace you. But those people I was saving weren’t one person. There were thousands of them. Alive because I couldn't give up."

Adam nodded. It wasn't entirely what he had expected, but they were still trying to find their feet. To rediscover how they fit together now. At least they had this chance. 

"And I'm so proud of you for that. I love you Kono. So much so that I paid extra to bump us up to first class again," he confessed. 

Kono eyes widened, but so did her smiled, "Adam! I said I was fine in -"

Adam interrupted, shaking his head and insisting, "I know you’re find sitting anywhere Kono, but that's just it. I love that you care about the important things like who you travel with over how you travel, and that I can bring you baked goods instead of a diamond bracelet, and that you'd rather go surfing on the beach and eat at Kamekona's than to a fancy dinner and a show- I love you, and you deserve the finer things in life. Let me give them to you."

After what they'd been through together and what they had been through apart, it feel like they deserved a break.

A soft smile broke across her face, the same way it had when they were young and naive and falling in love. Her arms moved around his neck so his moved down to wrap around her waist.

"I love you too, but uh, its not just McGarrett who's a sap y’know?" She smiled.

"There are worse things to be," he murmured. He closed the gap between them long enough to steal a kiss, which made both of them smile wider. Until he added, "Like late to meet Chin, so let's not miss our flight."

As they walked through the airport they became aware of the chaos they were stepping into. The storm had moved to the mainland. Flights were cancelled all over the place. This could be a problem. 

...

"I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Don't worry, you're doing great. You're making it your way, and that's called individuality. It's what separates us from robots."

"Sure, that's all that separates us from robots. Not the super sonic high speed mega computer we call brains. Just the ability to screw up a lasagna-"

"Shush!" 

Clara threw a pinch of flour at Eric to shut him up. It took him by such surprise that he took a step back, away from them. Steve smirked with satisfaction. He loved the way Clara stepped forward to defend him like he was one of her own, even over something as silly as lasagna. 

"Now, at home we'd usually use lasanga sheets because it's a full house and everyones always running around so finding time to make them from scratch is a challenge, but we have time here," Clara said.

"We have time. We have island time," Steve smiled.

Clara laughed warmly. It was the only way she knew how to laugh. Warm and hearty. Steve revealed in it.

"Island time is what we need everywhere. Sometimes it's just better to go slow and appreciate what's around you," she said.

"Exactly. You need to appreciate what you've got," he agreed.

"Because that way you can see what the important things are, right? The things that you want to keep around forever," she said, pointedly. 

"Grandma are you trying to tell Steve to hide an engagement ring in the lasagna, because I don't think that would end well," Eric snorted. 

Steve turned to throw him an unimpressed look over his shoudler. Eric was perched on the opposite countertop, watching eagerly as Clara tried to teach Steve how to cook her sacred lasagna recipe. 

"Why are you here? If it's just for the unhelpful commentary, there's a whole house out there to go be unhelpful in," Steve gestured towards the door with the knife blade.

"Hey, Eric's very helpful. It's just that hes got a touch of his uncle in him," Clara argued. 

"Which one?" Eric asked.

"Matthew," Clara and Steve chorused.

"Oh. And here I was gonna say thanks," Eric huffed.

"Maybe your super sonic high speed mega computer is running slow," Steve smirked. 

The front door slammed and Danny called, "Steveo?"

Once again, Steve gave Eric a dark warning look to keep his mouth shut. It was something Eric was used to by now, but he nodded anyway.

"We're in here," Clara called. 

Danny wandered into the room and leaned in the doorway to take in the scene. Eric was sitting on the counter, in Danny's usual spot, watching as Clara and Steve were standing beside the chopping board placed beside the stove. Both of them were wearing aprons, and Steve had had a white chef's hat placed on his head, presumably by Eric. It was Danny's, but Steve looked too handsome in it to be protective.

The entire room smelt of simmering meat and onion. It was enough to make his stomach rumble as he set the last of the shopping bags he had been sent to market with, down beside Eric.

"What's uh, what's going on in here? I thought I was the little Italian chef ma. You trying to demote me or something?" He joked.

"Don't worry uncle D youre still the _little_ Italian chef. Steve's the tall one," Eric sniggered. 

Danny tilted his head at him, unimpressed. "Get off of the counter. What's wrong with you, we prepare food on that."

Once Eric had pushed himself off and curtsied sarcastically, Danny nodded pointedly. Eric slipped aside, and Danny jumped up into the space he had just been sitting in. Steve laughed loudly to see it.

"Smooth," he grinned.

"Smooth moves is how I got you," Danny smirked. 

"Yeah right!" Steve snorted, "Did he tell you what happened when we got home after our first date Clara?"

Clara picked up a pinch of grated cheese and asked, "Is it something he'd like to share with his mother?"

She ate the cheese while looking accusingly at her son.

"I was being the perfect gentleman-" Steve began.

"Gentle caveman," Danny scoffed.

"I wore my suit for him. He turned up in jeans and a shirt I _k_ _now_ used to be Chin's-" Steve continued.

"Chin said I could have it, what am I gonna do, keep it in the cupboard? No, it's perfectly wearable, so I wore it!" Danny argued defensively. 

Clara tutted. That alone was enough to make Danny consider reminding Steve that he had taken a blood stained shirt from Adam, washed out the stains, and worn it on dates with Catherine at least twice. He elected not to for now. 

"We went to this little place near the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail in Waimanalo - that's over on the East Shore -" Steve began.

"Ma doesn't care where on the island we were Steve," Danny said.

"I've hiked there, it's pretty," Eric interrupted. 

Danny tilted his head to shoot an accusation at Eric. "You've hiked?"

"Hiked, participated in a body dump search, they're interchangeable," Eric shrugged. 

Steve and Danny shared a look, and then looked back over at Eric with the same dubious expression. 

"I'm not sure about that," Danny said. 

"Whether they are or not I don't know, but I do know you can't change prosciutto for Westphalian Steve - it's not even Italian," Clara declared. 

She tossed the packet of ham on the side, disapprovingly. It was Eric's turn to share a disapproving look with Danny.

"Oh, sorry, is that important?" Steve asked.

Danny and Eric burst into a riot of arguments, clearly offended. 

"Is that- I'm sorry, did you ask if thats important? a vital ingredient to my dear mothers perfectly crafted lasagna recipe? Is it _important?"_ Danny scoffed.

"You really are a caveman!" Eric snorted. 

"Thank you, thats what I've been saying!" Danny cried.

Steve glanced up at Clara for explanation. She just smiled softly and patted his arm to reassure him. 

"Calm down boys, calm down!" Clara called over to quiet them. "I'm teaching Steve. He's _learning._ You have to be gentle when they're learning."

"I distinctly remember grandma wacking me on the back of the knee with a ladle for trying to grate mozzarella when I was four," Danny recalled.

"That's fair," Eric nodded.

He too remembered his great grandmother and her infamous ladle. They had to bury her with it just to make sure her ghost wouldn't come back to claim it.

"Well I'm not your grandmother," Clara said, stubbornly.

"You're my grandmother and you just called me a criminal," Eric pointed out.

Clara put a hand on her hip and gave him a sharp look. "Eric will you go and buy replacement ham please?"

"Why do I get the feeling that that's an order, not a request?" Eric asked.

"Because you're not learning," Clara said, sweetly. 

The sweeter her tone, the more sour the meaning. That was something Eric had learned early on. He straightened up where he stood.

"Be right back," he said.

As he left, Clara turned back to the chopping board and moved some of the extra ingredients aside so she could begin finely dicing the garlic.

"Carry on Steve," she said.

He blinked as he watched how neatly she sliced the garlic. They had a crusher. He glanced over at Danny, silently asking if he should tell her that. Danny subtly shook his head.

"W-where, uh, where was I?" Steve asked uncertainly. 

"Waimanalo," Danny said.

"Right!" Steve declared. He cleared his throat into his arm as he continued, "So we get this meal and dopey here orders some wine-"

"Dopey? That was good wine!" Danny argued.

"Was it? I wouldn't know. By the time I decided to have a glass too, it was gone," Steve said, grinning.

"Danny!" Clara gasped as Danny scratched his chin and glanced away.

"I was nervous! It was our first real date, everything was hanging in the balance," Danny shrugged sheepishly. 

"He was nervous, it was adorable," Steve smiled warmly.

Clara glanced over at him and smiled, "Well he is my cutie pie."

Danny wrinkled his nose, _"ma."_

"You _are!"_ She insisted stubbornly, "Steve you're supposed to scrape the nutmeg. Have you ever worked in a kitchen that wasn't feeding an army before?"

"All he can cook is eggs ma. Just eggs," Danny smirked. 

"I can do bacon too!" Steve grinned.

"Well I'm glad I was here for breakfast, but what about the rest of the day?" Clara asked.

Danny leaned forward, eager to hear what lie Steve would come up with. Steve cleared his throat and hummed as if he needed to think about his answer. Danny rolled his eyes and answered for him.

"Kamekona."

"What, every day?!" She gasped.

"Not every day! I... I order from other places... like uh, like Steve's," he lied.

"Steve's?" Clara repeated as Danny laughed heartily 

"One - it's not called Steve's!" Danny grinned, "It was never called Steve's. The only time my restaurant was ever called Steve's was when you tried to blow us up and didn't hear me say there was no way in hell I was calling my restaurant Steve's-"

"You blew him up?" Clara repeated urgently.

"He was fine," Steve shrugged like it was nothing.

She blinked in alarm at how brazen he was, but it was how quickly Danny himself brushed past it that surprised her.

"And two, the italian bistro youre trying to avoid calling by it's real name is _Kamekona's_ Family Style Italian Bistro!" Danny reminded him.

"So it is Kamekona!" Clara gasped.

"If Kamekona's not cooking, I am," Danny nodded. 

He folded his arms victoriously as he grinned at them.

"Well excuse me for never having a mother around to teach me life skills like how to cook!" Steve shrugged defensively, "I never had to when I was in the Navy-"

"Don't play the mother card Steve, I met your mother, she didn't know how to cook either," Danny countered, "The only meal you ever learned to cook was Thanksgiving dinner and you're _way_ too protective of that."

Steve shrugged, "agree to disagree."

"Are you sure you two didn't get married without telling us? You sure do argue like you did," Clara pointed out. 

The two of them froze up again, which made Clara suspicious. If Lou was around (he wasn't, she'd checked) she would have been snooping around with his help to find out why. He would have complained, but he would have helped. Anything to wind up McGarrett. 

"Steve's not the kind of guy who proposes ma. That's too much romance for him. Too much vulnerability," Danny explained, calmly.

Steve's heart pounded but he smiled through it. "I'm not romantic huh? I drove you home after our first date. Walked you all the way to your door. Remember that?"

"That's minimum requirement really Steve, especially when you live here too," Clara pointed out. 

"I didn't at the time. I was staying in a hotel. I didn't want to cause a big fuss by moving straight back in," He explained. 

Steve hadn't moved straight back in because of the terror that held onto him every time he walked away from the doorstep. The day he had left them to travel alone and find himself, he had torn a hole in their lives. Just as that hole was healing, he had appeared again. He didn't want to cause anymore damage by moving too fast. The distance a hotel gave protected the family, and honestly, it protected him too. They all needed time to adjust. 

And they had gotten _good_ use out of that hotel room.

"I was standing on the doorstep, and Danny was drunk-"

"You ordered the second bottle of wine!"

"I told you I didn't! It was sent to the table by an old friend!"

"An old friend you didn't bother to talk to. How convenient, right ma?" Danny scoffed. 

"That does sound fair Daniel, he was on a date after all, you shouldn't interrupt dates," Clara said.

"Exactly!" Steve agreed, "Anyway, we were on the doorstep, and I was going to give Danny a kiss goodbye-"

It was important to note that, although it wasn't technically their first ever kiss, it was their first kiss as an official couple. For some reason, in the past few weeks between their first kiss and their first date, nerves kept getting the better of them. It felt as though when the clock had rung in the new year it had wiped the slate clean. This kiss, this was the point of no return.

Danny awkwardly ran a hand through his hair as he insisted, "I was nervous."

"I was too!" Steve laughed, "I'll admit that, you made me so nervous-"

"I don't see how, I was a bottle and a half gone before the champagne hit," Danny snorted.

"You had champagne too?!" Clara gasped.

 _"Danny_ had champagne. I was driving," Steve smirked. 

"You're a real prince charming arent you Danny? Getting drunk on a first date?" Clara accused.

She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at him, silently warning him that he was better than that. Danny looked down guilty at the accusation. Steve, however, was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he leaned in closer to her.

"He vomited on my shoes," he said.

She gasped again, but for different reasons this time. _"Danny!_ You haven't vomited since-"

"Please don't remind me Ma. It took me months to get over the shame," Danny winced. 

Clara shook her head in faned disappointment. 

"I had to tuck him into bed with a bucket and a glass of water for when he woke up," Steve said, solemnly. 

"You left me pills and some crackers too," Danny nodded, "It would have been really sweet if I hadn't died of embarrassment."

"I still think you're cute," Steve smiled.

"What'd you know? You've taken more hits to the head than a boxer," Danny scoffed.

Steve laughed along and shook his head. "We haven't been back there since that night. Maybe we should. They had good food."

"If you start paying attention to what's happening in front of you, you'll make good food too," Danny suggested.

He gestured to the beef mince that was still browning on the stove. In his distraction he hadn't stirred it and the edges were crisping. Once he had dealt with that, Steve swirled around to point at Danny. His apron fluttered as he did. Danny beamed in amusement. 

"Right, that's it. You're too much of a distraction, get out!" Steve ordered. 

"What?" Danny laughed.

"I mean it, out. I'm trying to learn and you're in here being far too sexy and distracting so leave," Steve said, firmly.

"I'm literally just sitting here," Danny grinned.

Steve's eyes flashed mischievously as he leaned closer towards him. "Exactly, you're sitting right there you horrible tease, go away."

Danny chuckled, "Steve-"

By that point Steve was only inches away from his face, using the counter either side of his legs to support himself. If he had wanted to, he could have done some push ups, which would have amused him and annoyed Danny. Both were a win.

"How am I supposed to think about something as tasty as this lasagna when something more delicious is right behind me?" He smirked.

Dannys eyes flicked towards Clara, but Steve quickly stole them back as he hissed, _"Steve!"_

Steve crept closer as his hand moved up towards Danny's chin. Devilishly he whispered, "Just a little taste?"

Danny couldn't object before Steve had moved to fit his mouth against his. His hand slid along his jawline till it reached the edge of his neck beneath his ear. Danny began to get lost in his tenderness, before he remembered who else was in the room, and pulled back quickly. 

"Steve stop it, mom's right there," he hissed.

Danny shoved him back hard but Steve was already smirking viciously like he'd proved some stupid point Danny wasn't even aware of. Clara chuckled to herself too. Her eyes were shining with delight for the two of them. She adored how hard it was for Danny to stop smiling. 

"You've gone all pink sweetie. It's a beautiful shade on you," she teased.

His blush deepened as he hissed, _"Steve!"_

Steve just chuckled back as he ran the pasta she had been preparing through their pasta maker. Danny hopped off of the side and shoved him playfully.

"Jerk," he muttered.

Steve squeezed his ass for good measure as he left. Danny shot him a dark look over his shoudler. He was so going to get him back for that. After he had gone, Steve glanced back at Clara who smirked at him. He felt his own cheeks flush.

"Sorry, uh, about that, I um..." 

"I think it's sweet. And I'm from New Jersey honey, I've seen much worse than that just walking to the store," Clara chuckled.

Steve hadn't been back to Jersey for a while and when he was there he didn't look around much, but he could infer her meaning anyway. There was passion in their city. There was passion in her too.

"So that restaurant on the east shore, by the lighthouse. Is it romantic?" She asked, curiously.

"It can be. But Eric's right, there was a body dump there once or twice. That sort of kills the mood," Steve chuckled. 

Her shoulders sagged. "Where on this island haven't you had tainted by crime?"

Steve frowned. He went very quiet. So quiet that it concerned her slightly. She nudged him.

"Steve?"

"I don't remember there being a crime at the aquarium. Not one we were involved with anyway. That's about it though..." 

He flashed her a smile as he returned to what he was doing, but her own smiled had faded. She looked down at the side to avoid his gaze.

"I worry about your safety yknow. Yours and Danny's, and my grandkids. What happens to them if you get killed?" She asked.

 _They_ _get left a large sum in life insurance as of two months ago_ , Steve thought to himself. He had set up a safety net for the children long before telling Danny about it. That way if he had said no, it would be too late to stop it. 

"I'm sure they'll be fine," he said 

"That's what everyone always says," she sighed.

She cranked the handle on their pasta maker to smooth out the lasagna sheets. Steve eyed her carefully. She wanted to know her family was safe. He understood that. Grace had been travelling around the mainland for three weeks and he was endlessly concerned for her. It was hard to imagine how she felt. All she wanted was some reassurance that Danny would be protected. 

He wanted to help. He wanted to tell her his plan. But he couldn't. He couldn't risk her telling anyone else. 

"Clara..." Steve took a deep breath. This was going to hurt him. "Danny's been married once. It ended badly. Every marriage we've ever seen has ended in divorce, except Chin's and Aunt Deb's because one of them died first. It's not exactly something he's keen to repeat. Right now... right now we're in a good place. We're comfortable. I don't want him to feel pressured into something he doesn't want to do and ruin what we have going right now. Please don't ask me to do that."

Clara felt his words like a smack to the chest. Even as softly and carefully as Steve said them, it wasn't what she wanted to hear. But it threw her off the trail. 

"I'd just like to know my only living son is being looked after," she muttered. 

"I love him. I really do. I promise you, I'll do everything I can to make him happy. Even if it means only buying italian ham for the lasagna," he teased.

"If it's not Italian, what's the point?" She smirked. 

She raised her head to meet his again, and the two of them laughed away the aches in their chest. Steve felt the pressure ease now she wasn't expecting anything. The only one he needed to fear was Danny.

Danny smiled to himself as his chest warmed. Steve had no plans for marriage. He would never let a little thing like his own feelings get in the way of Danny being happy. Fortunately for Steve, Danny loved him too much to ever live without him. Overhearing him just strengthened his resolve. 

All he needed now was permission to get engaged from the two people who mattered more than anyone else in the world. His phone was dialling before he even really thought about it. It went straight to voice mail.

"Hey Gracie, I guess you're on the plane, thank God. Gimme a call asap when you get this okay? Danno loves you."


	8. Chapter 8

"But what do you _mean_ your flights cancelled?! Can't you get another one?! It's thanksgiving!"

Eric bounced Charlie playfully as he tried to shift the boys weight from one knee to both. He had gotten bigger over the last year and the weight on one spot was beginning to hurt. 

"Hold still Eric!" Charlie insisted. 

"Sorry, I'm sorry," Eric muttered. 

Eric flattened his hand against the paper on the coffee table in front of him. Charlie's tongue peered out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on drawing around it. Eric's attention wandered back towards the kitchen, where his uncle was pacing again. He always did that when he was irritated. 

Eric already knew what was happening. His mother had phoned him while he was out buying ham. A storm had hit the mainland - possibly another branch of the storm that had hit the island - and no flights were leaving New Jersey. 

"Right, but if you and Bridge were to come together-"

There was no hope. There were no flights. It just wasn't safe to fly. Both Stella and Bridget had agreed it was safer and easier to stay home. They had already taken the repayment and air miles from Hawaiian Airlines. They were not coming. Instead they and Sophia were going to have thanksgiving together in the family home. Away from their partners still though. That plan had not changed. 

"I know, I know, as long as you're safe, but... but we're gonna miss you," Danny insisted, earnestly. 

Eric felt a tug of longing. He had phoned his mother a lot, but it wasn’t the same as being with her. Sometimes all he wanted was reassurance from his mother. Just a hug. The trouble was that she was meant to be in New Jersey. No where else felt comfortable to her. It was where she belonged. But Eric had found his feet and forged his ohana on O'ahu. 

This was home to him now. 

Eric rested his cheek on Charlie's hair and tugged him a little closer around the middle. He missed his mom, but at least he had his family. 

"Done!" Charlie declared.

"Already?!" Eric forced a tone happier than he felt.

Charlie lifted the paper high to show the thin outline of Eric's hand that he had drawn around. He even scribbled Eric's name along the palm.

"It looks awesome bud. Are we gonna make it a turkey now?" Eric asked.

"I'm gonna make everyone a turkey," Charlie declared.

"Everyone? That’s a bit ambitious," Eric said.

"It's not hard, I only need their hands," Charlie shrugged.

Eric nodded slowly, "That's true. Maybe we can get some string or something and hang it up around the table at dinner, huh? Does that sound cool?"

"Yeah!" Charlie beamed.

"Awesome, high five!" Eric beamed back.

Charlie lit up. He picked up the paper again and slammed the outline of a hand against Eric's real hand. Eric threw his head back and howled with laughter. Charlie's beam grew. The sound of it made Danny crane his neck to try and see them. It was always nice to hear the boys playing.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll uh... we'll see you at Christmas I guess. I love you too."

As he hung up he ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh. He had to admit, even though it scared him to have everyone under one roof - especially his roof - he'd been looking forward to it. Danny teased Steve over his inability to be alone a lot, but he understood why.

Danny had lived with his family all together in a huge noisy house until he moved in with college roommates into an even louder house. Then, when he met Rachel, he moved in with her and a newborn baby. Even in his apartment in New Jersey he had Matthew over pretty much every day. Each hotel with its thin walls and rattling air conditioning had some form of noise to it. 

The main thing Danny hated about this island was how quiet it could be. That's why he had taken to listening to the TV as he fell asleep. The simple noise of it eased something in him that just couldn't trust quiet.

It was that part of him that missed his family. He missed the easy chaos of them. Truly! With all the noise in their house that grew louder if so much as a hairbrush went missing you'd think someone had kidnapped a child. It was loud, but it was good loud.

That was something Danny couldn't fully share with Steve without his sisters. As much as he wanted Steve to know every part of him, somehow Stella constantly evaded them.

Danny paced back and forth along the side of the Brougham in the garage. Steve had propped up the hood and was almost hanging inside it to try and fix something. Danny hadn't listened to what. Now that Nahele had gone to the big island to work, Steve was back to fixing this thing by himself.

"It's not about the serenity -" Danny began.

"Serenity? I thought you just said that your sisters were chaos," Steve said.

His voice was muffled by grunts as the edge of the car hood dug into his gut. If he reached a little further he could reach all the day to the gap at the bottom. 

"They are, but without chaos you don't get serenity," Danny insisted. 

Steve straightened up and wiped his hair out of his face, leaving a trail of engine oil across his forehead as he did.

"How d'you figure?" He asked. 

Danny waved a hand through the air as he paced. He didn't bother to tell Steve about the oil. It wasn't the first time he would have walked through the house and not noticed till he glanced in a mirror. Steve leaned on the car to watch him. 

"It's like when the storm passed and suddenly everything settled down again and we all got to remember to appreciate the calmness. Like how when you get shot and I finally get some peace. I remember to appreciate the peace!" 

"Right," Steve cleared his throat, "But if your sisters aren’t coming-"

"Don’t worry the guns aren’t loaded," Danny said. 

Steve smirked to himself as he reached for the wrench on the table to the side. "Isn't there enough people in this place already to drive you mad? There's no privacy outside of here."

Danny opened his mouth to answer but it wasn’t his voice that filled the room.

"Danno? Steveo?"

Danny raised a hand pointedly into the air. Steve quietly laughed along with him. Charlie came bouncing into the room, carrying a sheet of paper and a couple of pencils with him. 

"Hey Charlie what's up?" Steve asked.

Charlie held out a hand expectantly and demanded, "Hand."

Steve glanced at Danny, who smirked and shook his head like he had no idea what was going on. Steve bit back a laugh as he looked back down at Charlie.

"Yep, that's a hand," he joked.

Charlie huffed loudly and rolled his eyes, _"your_ hand!"

Steve found it harder to bite back the laugh that time. Charlie looked so much like his father in miniature these days, in all sorts of ways. Big and small. It was adorable. 

"I'm a bit oily, let me find a rag," Steve said. 

Charlie obediently moved towards the rags hanging on the wall to carry one over to him. He had sat on the bench watching him and Nahele fussing over the old car often enough to learn where things were kept. Steve winked at him as he took it to wipe his hands. Charlie placed the paper onto the window of the car and grabbed Steve's wrist to make him lay his palm flat across it. 

"You’ve got an escape, no one but Vito's coming near this hunk of junk," Danny continued as if they hadn’t been interrupted.

Steve scoffed, "How many times Danno-" 

_"It's a classic!"_ Charlie huffed at his father.

Danny blinked in surprise as Steve lit up in delight. 

"Ye-eah Charlie!" He laughed.

"You got my son on this too?" Danny accused.

"He’s got good taste, right Charlie?" Steve winked again.

"Right Steveo!" Charlie beamed back up at him.

Charlie went back to outlining Steve's hand with the pencil. Steve's eyes moved back up to Danny, his eyes sparkling. 

"What'd you think Charlie, should I let you drive this thing when you get a licence?" He asked.

"Great, we're giving an ancient rust bucket on wheels to a newly licenced kid, that can't possibly go wrong," Danny scoffed.

"I thought it was Nahele's car?" Charlie said.

Danny smirked. Steve had been saying for a while that when he died - although when he first started saying it it was _if_ he died because he wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't indestructible - then he'd give the car to Nahele. It seemed fitting. No one else was going to love it enough. Clearly he'd said it enough that even Charlie had accepted it now.

"It is, but you can drive it before it goes to the big island with him. One day. Not today. You definitely need to pass your test first," Steve said, firmly.

Danny raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you?"

Steve gave him a look that told him everything he needed to know. At age seven he had sat on John's knee and held onto the steering wheel as John did the pedals. Not long after that, Steve was tall enough to reach the pedals himself.

"Don't make me answer that in front of the kid," he muttered.

Charlie yanked his hand away from the page and held it up to show the adults. Steve beamed and told him it was perfect. It had been so long since Steve made turkeys out of hand prints he barely remembered doing it. At least Charlie got to have a simpler childhood. 

Danny watched as Steve beamed proudly at the drawing. He was always so eager to make sure Charlie and Grace knew he was proud of them for literally everything they did. It warmed Danny's heart every time. He glanced down at Charlie's beaming smile. 

Today was the day to ask Charlie for permission. He couldn't wait any longer.

"You’re next Danno!" He declared. 

"I don’t wanna ruin your work with all the dirt in here-" Danny began.

"I'll clean it when I'm done!" Steve lied. 

"Let's go onto the lalani, yeah?" Danny urged.

Charlie had no reason to argue so he didn't. He allowed his father to guide him up to the lalani with him. They settled into the chairs and Charlie laid the paper on the table between them. Danny leaned over to lay a hand on the paper.

"Hey buddy, can we talk for a minute?" Danny asked cautiously as he watched Charlie draw.

Charlie hesitated. "Did Steveo tell you about Eddie not getting his bath like I said he did?"

Danny frowned and pulled back to look at Charlie. His hand moved as he did so Charlie paused.

"You lied to me?" Danny accused. 

Charlie stared at him quietly for a moment, silently weighing his options like Steve had told him to. Finally he lied, "...No."

"Okay, I'm going to forget you said that for a minute because I have something really important to ask you okay?" Danny said, seriously. 

Charlie's pencil twitched. "Can I draw?"

"Uh, sure." He placed his hand back into position. "The thing is Charlie-"

"Is it about weddings?" Charlie asked calmly.

Danny's chest tightened. "N- uh, yes, yes it is, how did you know that?"

"Are you going to ask Steveo to marry you?" Charlie asked, just as calmly. 

Danny was rather taken aback but tried to adjust, "Um, I was thinking about it. I'd like to, if you think it's okay?"

"If I say yes can I go back to my drawings?" Charlie asked.

"No- yeah, later, Charlie, listen," Danny said, seriously to try and get Charlie to pay attention. "It's really important to me that you’re on board with this. Because it will change a lot of things."

Charlie tilted his head and looked Danny in the eyes. "It will?" 

"Well, yeah. It'll change things that you might not even notice," Danny nodded.

"Like what?" He asked. 

"Well, like, uh, like, well... at school. You're gonna be the boy with a mom and two dads. Kids might think that’s weird."

"Why? Jason's got two moms. No one cares about that. And Karina has two granddads."

"Um, everyone has two granddads bud," Danny pointed out.

"They do?" Charlie sounded surprised. 

"Yeah, you've got two parents right? Then your parents have parents. That’s four grandparents. two grandmas, two granddads."

"But... mom doesn’t have a dad. Just Grammy."

"No... no she doesn’t..."

"And Steveo's dad died. And his mom."

"Yeah, that's true..."

"So I only have two grandmas, and pop-pop."

As they often did when talking to children, the conversation had gotten away from Danny. Children were unpredictable. It was difficult to keep his mind unscrambled enough to follow it. It frazzled him slightly. 

"Uh huh, y’know, I think we’ve gotten a little off topic. I wanted to ask you if you're okay with having two dads. Because if I marry uncle Steve-" he began.

"Steveo," Charlie corrected.

"Right, right, Steveo. If I marry Steveo..."

"Yeah?"

"Um..."

Danny trailed off as he frowned hard. He tried to think of the best way to explain to his son that he was in love and that that was a big deal, but he wasn't sure how to. This, he thought to himself, needed better planning.

"Danno?" Charlie asked quietly. 

Danny was starring blankly at the table as he said, "Yes Charlie?"

"You okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah... yeah, yeah I'm okay." Danny took another deep breath, "it's important that you know that I'll still love you even if I marry unc- uh, Steveo, okay? And if you're not okay with it, I won't do it. It's really important to me-"

"Marry Steveo Danno."

Danny blinked in surprise. He hadn't been finished, so Charlie's acceptance sort of stole his words away from him.

"You mean it?" He muttered.

"Sure." Charlie shrugged. He spoke with a sort of understanding that surprised Danny. It was almost as if he had been coached before and was now just repeating what he'd heard. "Nothing'll really change anyway. No more than they already have. Nothing except Eric'll be jealous that I have _two_ dads and he doesn’t even have one."

Danny frowned. "That's not very nice, where'd you hear that?"

"Eric said it."

"When?"

"When..."

There was a long pause as Charlie's eyes widened. A look of alarm lit his face as his pencil slipped in his hand. Danny felt a cold shiver down his spine at that look. 

"When Charlie?" He asked, firmly.

Charlie gulped. Quietly he muttered, "I’m not supposed to say."

"Charlie." 

Charlie clenched his jaw as Danny's tone darkened. He hated the idea of keeping things from his father, but it had been important to Steveo. He wasn’t allowed to tell. He kept his gaze away from Danny's. 

_"Charles."_

"I made a promise. Promises can't be broken," Charlie insisted. 

"They can if it's important," Danny urged.

"It's important I don’t tell you. I made a promise to not to."

"A promise to who?"

Charlie pouted hard to stop himself from telling him. Danny's stomach twisted anxiously at the idea that his son was keeping things from him already. He wasn’t even nearly a teenager yet. At least Grace had had the decency to wait until she was twelve. But his phone went off before he could get answers.

"We're not done here," he warned Charlie.

Charlie nodded, but when Danny ushered him back inside, he ran for it. Danny grabbed his phone and pressed it to his ear seconds after answering. 

"Tell me you’re on a flight!"

"Small snag, um," Grace gulped. It was audible. Her voice was tight. Behind it, there was noise that reminded him of Christmas crowds. Wherever she was, it was in chaos. "There was a storm or something that's just hit the airport and all flights are grounded until further notice."

 _"No!"_ Danny groaned loudly. 

"I’m so sorry Danno," she urged.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as his gut hit the floor. "It's... it's not your fault..."

"You can yell at me if you want to," she said, quietly. 

Her tone was tinged with guilt, and that just made him feel worse. 

"No... no it's okay monkey, I don’t, I know you tried... when do you think they'll let you fly?"

"I... not until after black Friday at least..."

Danny groaned again. Grace apologised again. It made him feel even worse.

"No, no, it's okay. It's done now, it's fine. It's just Thanksgiving... you'll be here for Christmas..."

"I love you," she said.

"I loved you more monkey... I gotta go."

He had to go because if he hadn’t he would have screamed. Everything in him wanted to throw his phone as hard as he possibly could, directly at a rock. He wanted to curse the sky and the weather and everything else that kept him and his daughter apart. 

Instead, he settled for yelling, "NEW RULE EVERYONE! STOP OVERS ARE BANNED! IF YOU CAN'T FLY THERE DIRECTLY, YOU'RE NOT GOING!"

The Williams didn’t really react to yelling anymore, so he went ignored. So to get the attention he required, he went straight back to Steve in the garage. 

"The family is falling apart!"

Steve almost slammed his head against the hood of the car in sudden bolt of surprise. He dropped to the floor as he did. Steve had kept a gun safely hidden beneath the car engine and when Danny spooked him, he dropped to grab it. 

"Charlie's keeping secrets!"

It took him a moment to realise it was just Danny, which made him feel sheepish. He let go of the gun and went back to hoping Danny would never find out about it. Danny didn’t notice. He had his own storm clouds brewing in his mind. They sent a bolt of lightning through Steve though. 

"Secrets? What secrets?" He asked, trying to sound brazen.

Danny's mind caught him out. He knew Steve too well not to know that tone. He was hiding something. It wasn’t hard to guess what from the context. 

" _You’ve_ got him keeping secrets!" He accused. 

Steve swallowed, trying to stay calm. "Are you okay babe? You seem -"

"Grace is stuck in Canada, there’s a storm, she’s not coming home," Danny raised his voice bitterly.

Another bolt of panic shot through Steve's chest. "She’s what?!"

Danny didn't want to think about Grace being so far away, on her own and unreachable. 

"Why have you got my son keeping secrets from me?!" Danny demanded.

Steve was already losing the thread of this conversation. "I - _what?!"_

"Give it up, Charlie told me everything!" Danny lied.

Steve's heart skipped a beat, "He did?"

"Everything!" Danny lied.

Steve frowned. The fact that that didn’t ring true niggled at him. Steve knew him too well. There was a tell.

"Why?" 

"He’s a kid, I offered him candy, he squealed easily."

They had been in far too many interrogations together for their usual tricks to work. He couldn’t fool Steve anymore than Steve could fool him. 

"... why are you lying to me Danny?"

"Lyi- you have the audacity-"

"Charlie's no rat! Neither is Grace! That’s why she punched that kid and why no one knew how Junior hurt his leg-"

When Junior injured his leg they had to check the CCTV footage to find out what had happened. It was a small infringement of privacy conducted by his now fiancée, which lead to them finding the truth. Junior had slipped on the steps outside of the palace and Charlie had learned more first aid by osmosis than any of them had realised. Junior was incredibly embarrassed by it.

"Fine!" Danny huffed as he folded his arms. "He told me you and Eric have a secret he can't tell me about. About weddings."

Again Steve felt his heart drum against his ribs but he did his best to look baffled, "Weddings? Why were you talking to Charlie about weddings?"

"I’m asking the questions here Steven! Why's my son keeping secrets?!" Danny demanded. 

"Because he's a good boy. He’s learned from telling the TSA everything last year. You should be proud," Steve deviated pointedly. 

"He says Eric's jealous he’s got two dads and Eric only has one," Danny said. 

Steve's expression softened. "Yeah. Eric said that. I felt kind of bad for him. When dad died, it sucked to know we couldn't make up for lost time anymore, but Eric doesn’t even have that closure. That’s gotta suck."

Danny chewed his lip. On the one hand he suddenly felt a burst of empathy for Eric, but on the other he was still furious at the world keeping him away from his children, and focusing on Steve's secrets was an important distraction. 

"I'm still mad at you, so until you tell me the secret, I'm not helping you prepare Thanksgiving dinner," Danny said, stubbornly. 

Steve’s eyes widened in alarm, "No, no, c’mon I need a prep cook!"

"Find someone else, we're not on speaking terms right now!"

"Danny don’t be so immature!"

Danny stormed off in a huff, which didn’t make him feel any better, even with Steve begging him to come back. In Danny's defence he desperately wanted to propose. The more time he spent with Steve the closer it came to slipping out of him. But he couldn’t risk Grace disagreeing. 

She was the most important thing on this earth to him. 

His happiness was in her hands.

And she was four thousand miles away.


	9. Chapter 9

Kamekona had taken Vito off to the restaurant so the two of them could dine together and judge the menu. Eddie and Clara were also invited along. Kamekona wanted to get the approval of some genuine Italian descendants before boasting about the approved menu. It was an advertising opportunity for him. It was a free meal for them. They didn't intend on staying for long though. Meals out with Vito tended to take a left turn when the subject of payment arose. 

It also left Danny sulking as Eric searched for a place to hide the drugs, and Steve had to put Charlie to bed.

What felt like a lifetime ago, when Charlie was still too small to bathe alone, Danny had left Steve in charge of Charlie's bath while he was on the phone to a doctor downstairs. Back then Danny had told him that Naval battles are not appropriate games for toddlers. Now though, Charlie's pyjamas consisted of blue pants with battleships across his legs and one of Steve's old navy shirts that had been tossed aside one laundry day. Charlie had claimed it while his clothes were being washed, even though it was far too big for him and the collar hung low across his chest. Steve melted with affection every time he saw him wear it.

He hoped with everything that he had left in him that Charlie never went near a career in the navy.

Steve wasn’t sure he could breathe knowing what danger he would put himself in. Hell, these days he worried to death whenever Junior disappeared. If Charlie went with him, Steve would finally understand why Danny’s blood pressure was always so high.

Steve tucked Charlie into his bright red car shaped bed neatly, and tugged on the covers afterwards. Charlie didn’t like to complain in case it stopped Steve from tucking him in, but those naval trained hospital corners were hard to breath in and harder to wriggle out of. Danny, however, was fine with complaining and had told him off countless times because of it.

"Night Charlie," Steve muttered as he kissed his forehead. 

He tried to make a point of kissing foreheads more these days. There was a kind of magic in them that took his breath away and he wanted to share it.

"Steveo?" Charlie muttered quietly. 

Steve had just reached the door, but paused to look back at him.

"Yeah buddy?"

"I still don't understand what marriage is. Everyone else is really excited. Why?"

Steve's shoulders sagged. That was a complicated question and he still had to find a prep chef. 

"Oh bud. It's so late. Can we talk in the morning?" He asked. 

Charlie pouted and sank into his bed, but muttered, "Okay..."

Steve sighed. There was no denying that he was a pushover when it came to these kids. They knew exactly how to play him. Every single time he felt them manipulate him, he thought back to the day he told Danny he'd found an office for Jerry but he wasn't giving him a badge. _"He'll be disappointed for about five minutes, until he pouts and then you cave, because you are spineless, and you give him a badge."_ Well now Jerry not only had an office and a badge he had a published book about Five-O and another one on the way. 

Maybe he really was spineless. 

"Alright we can talk now but you have to budge up. I don’t ride shot gun, I drive."

Charlie shuffled up in his bed, smiling again as Steve climbed in beside him. This bed was far too small for him to lie in, but he hung an arm around Charlie to pull him close and let the ends of his legs hang over the edge.

"Marriage is..." Steve began, uncertain about where he was going to go, "It's like a promise between two people that no matter what happens, they love each other very much and that want to spend their lives together forever. It's saying to someone, I love you and I am always going to love you, and they promise it back."

"And if they break that promise?" Charlie asked innocently.

"Well if they break that promise then feelings get hurt and they split up. But when other people are involved- like kids, they still agree to love each other enough that they get to see them."

The words ached against Steve's chest, even though he knew it needed to be said. No matter what happened now, no matter what Danny's answer was or what happened after, he loved Charlie. He would always love Charlie.

Although he had been wary after Charlie's birth, truth be told. 

...

After Rachel left the hospital Danny couldn’t sneak in to watch the baby sleep anymore. He couldn't quietly pretend to be his father anymore. It hurt Danny too much to see Rachel and Grace with the baby in Stan's house. They looked like their own family that he was always on the outside of. He couldn't handle it. Instead, he sent Steve. 

Steve had been hesitant to say the least. Picking up Grace was something he'd done a dozen times before, but this time he felt out of place. He wanted to be there as back up for Danny, but he couldn't help feeling bad for Rachel. Stan was already working out of the back room again and she only had Grace to help her as she healed. 

Rachel's hair was a birds nest, her shirt was stained, and her pyjama bottoms were baggy. She had lost all the posh upkeep that took far too much effort to maintain. She looked haggard. It was justified and understandable, but Steve couldn’t felt the rush of sympathy he felt for her.

Steve had only dared allow Danny to see him sick once, because the way he fussed over his injuries was close to nagging. When Charlie was born everyone had to sanitize their hands before holding him, at Danny's demand. When Grace was injured he forced her into bed rest and pancakes for weeks. Steve had no doubt that when Rachel had given birth to Grace she didn't have to stand up until she snapped and told him she wasn’t staying in bed anymore no matter what he said. He also had no doubt that Grace didn't know what a cot was until Danny was forced back to work. 

Steve was lingering in the hallway, idly chatting, eyeing the baby in her arms as he waited for Grace to gather her things. Steve didn't even try to make an appearance. 

"Come on Grace, uncle Steve is waiting!" Rachel called.

"I can't find my school tie!" Came distant reply. 

Rachel groaned as Charlie whined in her arms. She was clearly exhausted. In that moment Steve had to make a choice between following Danny's actual orders ("don't even look at the baby, you've got nothing to do with the baby, just get Grace and bring her home as quickly as possible") and what he thought Danny would actually do in this situation. 

"Uh, Rach, if it'll help, I can take Charlie-"

Rachel's eyes widened hopefully at him. The two of them didn't really have a relationship outside of Danny (not beyond chatting while waiting for Grace, or in hospital checking in on Danny anyway) but he had made it clear he didn't approve of her asking _Danny_ to take her to hospital for _Stan's_ son. Especially after everything. She hadn’t expected him to extend a hand to help. 

"You would?"

"Yeah, I'll take him."

Rachel half shoved Charlie into Steve's arms. She hadn't had a moment away from him in two weeks, and as much as she loved him, she was eager for a break. Steve gathered Charlie in close and cradled him against his chest. Rachel practically darted out of the room to make the most of these few fleeting moments of peace. 

Steve and Charlie were left alone.

Charlie cooed, blinking himself awake. His tiny button nose crinkled as he did. Those deep blue eyes blinked open as he looked up at Steve. Suddenly his eyebrows furrowed. Steve mirrored his look automatically. Charlie looked so incredibly puzzled at who he was that it was undeniably adorable. His chest heaved as his stomach ached to watch him. And then Charlie yawned. 

That was it.

That toothless, gummy, pink yawn, showing off his teeny tiny tongue showed how utterly fragile he really was. So small. Too small. Especially for a baby who was supposed to have been conceived before her affair with Danny. Steve felt a wave of affection for him.

He glanced up to see if anyone was around. No one was. He lifted the baby up to lay a kiss on his little head. Charlie had other ideas. His tiny fingers latched onto Steve's nose, cooing as he did. Steve burst into laughter. Already the kid had his defensive system prepared. If he trained that up, Charlie would be an excellent SEAL. 

"Sorry that took so long," Rachel sighed as she came back, "her uniform is in her bag, and I’ve put- Steve?"

Steve looked up suddenly. He hadn't quite registered Rachel's return. He was to lost in cooing over the baby. His eyes widened as he looked up at her because Charlie's hand and latched onto his lip. She smiled.

"Feeling broody?" She teased.

Steve gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged, "I'm not sure if kids are on the cards for me and Cath."

"You don’t want them?" She asked.

"I'd love them. I just don’t think she would," Steve admitted.

Rachel gave him a sympathetic look as she ran a crooked finger across Charlie's forehead.

"You're welcome to mine," she joked.

"I'm ready!" Grace cried.

Steve gently handed the baby back to Rachel as Grace came bounding over. He beamed warmly as she threw her arms around him. She squealed with laughter as he lifted her off of the ground. Already she was off, telling him about her plans for the weekend before they even reached the door. She only paused when he told her to say goodbye to Rachel. She kissed Rachel's cheek and bounced down the steps towards the car.

Rachel caught his arm as he moved to follow Grace, "Steve?"

He hesitated. Danny had said be as fast as possible, but he didn’t want to be rude.

"Yeah?" He asked. 

"I mean it," she urged. "Just because Danny and I couldn't make it work doesn’t mean you can't be part of my life too. You're good with Gracie, if you want to be part of Charlie's life too-"

Steve's chest heaved. That was everything he wanted. A kid that he could help to raise from his first breath. He'd settle for godfather if it was on offer. But that would put Charlie and Danny in the same place again and he already had to see him whenever he came to pick up Grace. Every time Danny looked at Charlie he'd see everything they could have had. 

That wasn’t fair to him. 

"I would love that, but I'm not sure Danny would, and he doesn’t deserve the betrayal," Steve said.

Rachel couldn't argue. She had guilt written across her face, and he would never have guessed why. She raised Charlie’s hand to wave for him, so Steve wriggled a finger in a small wave back.

"Bye Charlie."

Grace watched the way Steve glanced longingly back at the door, where Rachel and Charlie waved them goodbye. She giggled to herself. Steve was already smitten. She had a feeling he'd be picking her up from her mothers house more and more in future. 

...

Charlie laid his head against Steve's chest as he said, thoughtfully, "So even though Danno and Mom don’t love each other anymore, they still love us? If they stop loving each other, can they stop loving us?" 

"No. No never," Steve promised sincerely, "See, Danno and Mom are different. They’re special. Because they still love each other, but in a different way than before."

It had taken more than a little work to get here. Danny and Rachel had put effort into keeping the peace between them for the kids sake. It was easier with Steve there to keep Danny calm. Still, with the connection they had always had, they could reform their friendship. 

Charlie frowned. "How?"

"Um..." this was also going to be hard to explain, and he was already feeling tired, but he did his best to find an answer. "So you know how you love Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"But you also love Gracie?"

"Sometimes."

"Sure, but you love them both in different ways, right?"

"I..."

Charlie frowned again. He loved both of them, but if he had to pick between his sister and their dog he wasn’t sure how. 

"Okay, it's not important, forget that... listen all that matters is that Danno is going to love you forever," Steve promised. "You and Gracie, you're going to be his number one most important thing in the world forever. But if I marry Danno, that makes me number two. Dyou understand?"

Charlie nodded slowly, like he almost understood. "I think so... So marriage is a big promise that you’re going to love each other and live happily ever after as Danno's number two most important thing in the world?"

Steve nodded, "Pretty much."

"If you love him a lot why don’t you want to be number one?"

"Well he’s not my number one either."

"Who’s your number one?"

"You and Gracie. You're always number one. That’s why I asked you first."

"So we'll be one big happy family?"

Steve cracked a smile at the mere idea of that. "Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

Charlie's smile grew as his imagined them together, being a real family. Not that he'd ever really known any different. Except families don’t leave, and Steve had once. If he was part of their family for real, he wouldn't ever leave again.

"I like that..." he smiled.

"I do too. C’mon, lets get some sleep," Steve said.

He stood up and tucked the boy back in again. Once again he kissed his head.

"Love you Charlie." 

"Love you Steveo."

Steve smiled at him from the doorway as he switched off the light. Family was something he didn't have a lot of anymore, and he loved the one he had built around him more than anything. Even if they did let their emotions run high. 

Which was why Eric was shocked to find Danny hiding in Grace's bedroom, trying to take just five minutes to himself to swallow back the urge to scream. His eyes narrowed on Eric.

"What?" Danny demanded.

Eric's mouth flapped. He had come to Grace's room to bury the bag of powder somewhere no one was going to look for it. Since she wasn't coming home, no one would ever have known.

Unless Danny was sulking in here.

Eric hid his bag behind his back and licked his lips, "You okay uncle D?"

Danny waved a hand wildly and did his best not to expose how much of a tornado was billowing through his mind.

"Sure, sure. I mean I have way too much food in my kitchen because half of my family couldn't make it because of weather, including my own daughter, which makes me think maybe God himself is against me at the moment, but what does that matter, who is he to tell me who I can and cannot marry huh? I married Rachel, right, and that went to crap, so now I have a chance to propose to someone I actually love and have done for years and everything’s falling apart, and I don’t actually believe in signs from the universe or anything but something or someone up there is working to keep this from happening and I don’t know why or how to stop them! So yes! I'm okay! I’m just _fantastic."_

Eric suddenly forgot what he was actually in here for as he blinked in surprise, "You’re gonna propose?"

"Not so loud you putz, you want mom to hear?!" Danny hissed.

He pushed Eric aside and glanced around the hallway to see if anyone was around. They weren't. He did his best to stop the door from slamming as he pushed it shut. Eric turned to keep his back away from Danny. Without facing him, Eric tucked the bag into the drawer. 

"But, like, are you gonna propose or-" 

"Uh no, no I'm not, because I haven't had time to go and find a ring yet, and more importantly, Grace isn’t coming to Thanksgiving and I really need Grace to be here for it so no. No I'm not proposing no," Danny spat bitterly.

Eric tilted his head and frowned, "Didn’t you propose to Rachel with a soda pop ring pull?"

"Steve's worth more than a ring pull," Danny said, as if that were obvious.

"And Rachel wasn’t?" Eric asked.

"Hey!" Danny snapped and pointed a finger at him warningly, "Rachel deserved everything I gave her. It wasn't about value anyway, it was the romance of the moment!"

He was a romantic at heart, even if he'd never admit it. It was churning him up inside that he hadn’t asked Grace for permission yet, and now he couldn’t, and he'd have to wait even longer to propose, and that meant his family wouldn’t be around to see it. Danny really wanted them there. It felt important and he wanted to share it with everyone. He ran a hand through his hair as he groaned bitterly. Eric felt an urge to reassure him, and utterly unsure of how to. After all, Danny was the calm and controlled one in the family.

If he was freaking out, this was big.

"Uncle D, if you want to propose you shouldn't let something like Grace not being here stand in the way," Eric said, cautiously. 

Danny scoffed, "No, no I can't propose without Grace's permission. The girl has lived through two divorces, I need to know she’s okay with me getting married again before I even think about asking Steve."

"I have a feeling she’s okay with it," Eric said, pointedly.

Danny glared at him in disgust. The confidence in which Eric said that made it sound as though he knew Grace's mind better than he did. Better than any of them did. The arrogance was staggering.

"Well it doesn’t matter what you think because you’re not my daughter!" He huffed.

"No. No I'm not," Eric agreed. He wondered if he Danny would be mad if Eric let him waste his money and didn't tell him Steve already had rings. "Um, the ring you haven't brought yet-" 

Danny rolled his eyes impatiently, "Eric, I'm freaking out! Can't you take this elsewhere?!"

Eric glanced at the drawer he had tucked the drugs into. He really didn’t want to leave Danny in here where he could find it.

He cleared his throat, "Well I don't really want to leave you alone, and I can't exactly go get Steve or for you-"

"What the hell would I tell Steve, _think_ Eric! Use your head for once in your life!" Danny hissed.

"I could call Kono?" Eric offered.

"Kono?" Danny gave him a baffled look, "Kono's brilliant, she's the best cop on the island, but she isn't exactly the best at matters of then heart is she? Either way she’s not on the island so that’s useless to me-"

"I don’t know, she's still with the man she married-" Eric began. 

"After a divorce- remember when I said use your head?" Danny huffed, "Next you'll say phone Rachel like a moron and tell her I’m putting our daughter at risk of another divorce which could cost her to spiral and this time she'll end up dropping out of college altogether instead of just slipping grades! Don't be an idiot Eric, you’re better than that!"

Eric wrinkled his nose as Danny started pacing again. He edged around the bed to try and draw Danny's attention away from his hiding spot.

"Well who’s your best man?" He asked.

Danny threw his arms into the air, " _How the hell do I know?!_ I haven’t even asked Steve yet and you think I have a best man?! I don’t even have a groom!"

"Then the only other person I can think of is Grandma and we all know-" 

Danny’s face fell, as did his voice, and he warned with deadly seriousness, "No do _not_ \- listen to me Eric, listen to me, do _not_ let ma find out about this okay? Steve is really important to me, and he's really trying to fit into the family, and I want him to know that he's not just an outsider filling space, he’s one of us so this has to be _perfect._ I’m giving Steve a family Eric. I’m giving him my whole life and everything that I can offer. I cannot let him see how much of a mess that really is. Ma can _not_ know."

"Ma can not know what?" Clara asked as she pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

Eric’s heart beat faster as Danny gave him a death glare. "This is your fault."

Eric gulped. Hell, he'd come this far. "For the record, I'd better be your photographer."

Danny scowled. "Get out."

"Happy to."

Eric was really. He practically skipped out the door now that he knew Danny was distracted. They weren't about to go snooping in drawers if Clara thought there was a secret Danny wasn’t willing to share.

"Photographer?" She repeated curiously. 

Lying to his mother made his stomach hurt. He could and would do it but he didn’t like it. There was only one thing he would never tell her, and he was fairly certain she'd already worked it out. If she'd worked out he wasn't straight and she could work out what happened to Marco Reyes, (whenever that came to mind - and it was never really far away - he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye) she could work out this.

Clara frowned. "What’s going on Danny? Are you okay?"

"I'm freaking out a little ma," Danny confessed.

"Oh baby!" She gasped.

Danny rolled his eyes as she shot forward to wrap her arms around him and bundle him against her chest. He resisted. At first at least. There's nothing quite like a hug from your mother to make things feel better when you really need them to. When he pulled back, she kept her hand on his shoulders. 

"Is it because of your sisters? Don't worry, they'll be fine, they've got each other. The two of them and a bottle of wine and everyone will be glad they stayed home," she assured him. 

"It's uh, it's not that Ma..." he sighed again as he stepped back out of her reach, "Grace isn't coming for Thanksgiving."

"Oh no! Is she okay? Is she safe?" She asked urgently.

"She says she's fine, but I need her - I _need_ her home ma," Danny groaned. "If she doesn’t come back soon then I have to wait to ask her something important and the longer I wait the more I want to."

"Well why can't you just phone her?" Clara asked.

"It's... it's a face to face kind of question," he said.

Clara's face softened as she tilted her head. "What is it sweetie? You know you can tell me anything."

"Ma... ma you have to promise Steve won't find out," he warned. 

She frowned, suspiciously. No one kept secrets from their partner for no good reason.

"What have you done?" She demanded. 

"Promise!" He urged.

"Tell me first, then I'll decide if I can promise," she countered. 

"I can't ma! It's too important! You have to promise first!" Danny insisted. 

Clara hummed dubiously. She knew her reputation. It was fairly gained. She wasn't the best at keeping secrets. But the way her son was looking at her made her nervous. This was important. 

"I promise."

"That means you can't scream," he warned.

She rolled her eyes, "When have I ever screamed?! I don’t scream. Just because I’m from New Jersey doesn’t mean I always scream-"

"Ma-"

"It's a hurtful stereotype Danny, not all the women from one city are noisy for the sake of being noisy-"

"I'm gonna ask Steve to marry me."

" _WHAT_?!"

At the familiar sound of Clara's excited screaming, Vito glanced up. They had barely been home for five minutes - just long enough for her to declare she was going to the bathroom. He looked over at Eddie.

"She's screaming again," he said, drily. 

"She’s always screaming. Y’know what Jersey girls are like," Eddie shrugged.

The two of them chuckled to themselves and carried on pouring their drinks.

"How're you gonna do it?" Clara asked eagerly.

"I don’t know," Danny sighed.

"You don’t _know?!_ Danny, honey, you always know! You’ve always got a plan!" Clara insisted. 

"Obviously I have _plans_ Ma, but none of them are good enough," he said.

"Why not?" She asked. 

"Because they're not. My original plan was to create a scavenger hunt, but, uh, after Doris, well. I almost died last time there was something to decode, so I don’t think Steve would be all too keen to follow the rules if he thought there was any change this was a set up-"

"Why would he?"

"In our line of work, everything's a set up. None of this matters anyway because if Grace isn’t okay with me getting married, I'm not getting married! I need to talk to her and she’s not here!"

Clara rested a hand on her hip and gave him an accusing look, "We're talking about the same little girl who borrowed my veil and Vito's bowtie to marry the dog when she was four, right?"

Danny found himself smiling at the long forgotten memory. Back then he had been so disgusted at the idea of marriage - or more, his impending divorce - that seeing Grace in her best white dress, Stella's old kitten heels, Clara's veil, and gaudy bead and pasta necklaces she had made herself, wasn't a pleasant sight. He hadn’t allowed anyone to photograph it. Even after the effort of balancing the top hat on their poor old dog who already had a bow clipped onto his collar.

Now he wished he had.

She had been excited at the idea of weddings even then. That old dog was possibly the only groom he would ever approve of, and even he came with some reservations. Like, y’know, being a dog. 

"Can I see the ring?" Clara asked, cutting through his thoughts. 

"I was gonna buy it on black Friday," he confessed.

She gasped in horror, "You cheapskate!"

"Where would I even hide it?!" He asked.

"No ones in here for a few days. We'll go tonight, together - right now!" She beamed eagerly.

"Well I can't exactly go out and buy some rings without Steve getting suspicious, can I?" He huffed.

"Then I'll go. Eric will drive, we'll both go! There's plenty of time-" 

"You and _Eric_ want to buy me an engagement ring?" 

"Don't you trust me?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

Clara smacked his arm to scold him. He snorted as she did. Clara tried to look mad, but the excitement lit her face and made her smile. She adored seeing her children happy. Especially Danny. It wasn’t long before he was looking nervous again though. 

"What if the kids don’t approve?" He asked.

"Does Charlie approve?" She asked.

"Yeah," he said. 

"Then why wouldn’t Grace? She loves weddings. I'm sure she'd be delighted. And if she has any doubts, show her the ring! Girls melt over engagement rings, especially with diamonds!" Clara smirked. 

Danny groaned, "No. I've never brought a diamond ring in my life, I'm not gonna start with someone who would sell it to buy spare car parts!"

"Steve would never-"

"What do you think happened to Catherine's ring?"

When Steve was left holding a ring that felt like a punch to the gut to even look at, he wanted to get rid of it immediately. It did not happen immediately. First, he tried to give it away. Kono wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. When Danny found Grace wearing it he had taken it to give it back. He didn’t want her wearing something that made her a mugging risk. Eventually he had sold it off to someone who paid him almost all of his money back, and he spent that on car parts, much to Nahele's approval.

"Send some photos to Eric's phone and I'll make sure we get it right," Clara insisted. 

"Ma-" he began.

"Daniel, you will not back out of this. If all you need is Grace's approval and a ring, let me help you," she said firmly.

Danny sighed. There was no way of getting past this. Now Clara knew that a romantic proposal was on the horizon, she would fight hell and high water to ensure she saw it. He gave her a weak smile. At least she was supportive.

Clara held up Eric's jacket as he slipped his arms into it. It didn’t matter how old they were getting, she still acted like he was three. Eddie craned his neck to look up at them.

"Where are you two going?" He called.

"We thought we'd check out that path Steve mentioned," Clara lied calmly.

Steve wandered back into the room, holding a plate of lasagna as he did, "Which path?" 

Clara's shoulders sagged as her eyes fell on the plate. "I told you to not to eat that! You’re supposed to share it with your ohana at the game!"

"Yeah, because if there’s one thing you want on Thanksgiving it's more food!" Vito snorted. 

"Where are you going? Want an expert guide?" Steve offered. 

"No," Eric barked urgently. 

"No?" Steve repeated, suspiciously. 

Clara ran a hand down Eric's arm gently to shut him up without saying a word.

"We're going to the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail in Waimanalo," she said.

"Ah." Steve glanced at the Labrador hovering nearby. Someone was going out, and he wanted to go too. Steve glanced back at the kitchen. He still needed to clean up after the lasagna cooking class. "Y'know Eddie loves that path, and he needs one more walk tonight-"

"Oh, uh, nah. No room in the truck and it wouldn’t be right to put him in the back, right?" Eric shrugged.

"No, but-" Steve began.

"We'll be back soon," Clara promised.

She pushed Eric towards the door so that Steve wouldn’t be able to object. He also didn’t notice Vito's growing frown as he checked the news on his tablet.

"Ed? Look at this," he muttered. 

Eddie had been fooled before. He was resistant to leaning over to see whatever he was showing off. Vito insisted though, so Eddie reluctantly reached out to take it. This time it was just a news article, much to his relief. As he read the article though, his face fell.

"That doesn’t make sense..."

He glanced up at Vito who gave him a serious look. If this was right, Grace was lying.

"Hey babe, will you take Eddie out so I can- Danny?"

The sound of Steve being ignored caught their attention. Both of them moved to hide the article away from Danny as he sat beside them. Steve followed him to stand in front of the coffee table and put his hands on his hips.

"Are you seriously still not talking to me?" He asked.

Danny slurped his coffee pointedly, and set the cup on the coffee table. To reach it, Steve had to move his legs. Fortunately, for Steve anyway, Charlie had developed a fool proof way of getting attention that Steve could easily copy.

"Hey Danny? Danno? Daniel? Danny? Babe? Detective Williams?"

Unfortunately for Steve, Danny had lived through two children and three siblings. He had far more patience for repetition than the SEAL had for lack of reaction. His tone was already growing impatient and if he got much louder, he'd wake up Charlie.

"Vito can you inform my partner that I am still not currently speaking to him?" Danny asked calmly.

Vito glanced between Charlie and Steve thoughtfully. This was stupid and childish, and the perfect opportunity to be stupid and childish back. Vito adjusted in his seat and looked Steve in the eye. 

"He says he's better off without you as his partner," he lied, seriously. 

Steve gave him a baffled look, "I can hear him!"

"And that's my problem?" Vito shrugged.

"Tell him until he tells me why he's using my kids against me-" Danny began.

"Against you?! We were just talking about the future!" Steve argued defensively. 

"We have nothing to talk about," Danny finished.

"He says he doesn’t see you in his future and you should break up," Vito said.

Danny rolled his eyes. He couldn’t imagine a future without Steve, and he was fairly certain Steve wouldn’t want one without him. Besides, given that kind of aneurysm face printed over his expression, Steve wasn’t about to let him get away with this.

"Vito y’know this is my house, right? If I'm not dating Danny, you’re paying for a hotel," he warned.

There was a long pause as Vito considered this. Then he turned back to Danny, "Give the kid a break Danny, he's under a lot of stress."

Danny huffed at Vito. He wasn't mad really. He was just tired and worried. Besides, being mad at Steve made it easier to distance himself from him. If he spent much more time with him he was sure Steve would do something insane or adorable and he would crack. 

He couldn’t do that to Grace. 

But even the temptation was enough to make him feel guilty. So it was easier to just be annoyed at Steve. Steve threw his hands into the air helplessly as he went ignored again.

"I don’t understand what I've done. This is just like when I mentioned having another kid-"

"Another kid?!" Vito and Eddie chorused in alarm.

"And you freaked out! The future is coming whether you like it or not Danny! If you don’t talk about it, it won't stop it, you just wont be prepared!" Steve huffed.

He collapsed into the only spare seat left like a puppet that had its strings cut. With that, Eddie felt like he couldn’t let this go anymore. He sat forward and arched an eyebrow at Danny.

"Son, am I to understand that you're choosing to ignore the man you’re dating because he has a relationship with your son that goes beyond you?"

Danny rolled his head to look at his father. He glanced at Steve. Steve folded his arms to sulk at being ignored. Danny lowered his voice to prevent his son over hearing. 

"He made Charlie keep secrets from me. My kids shouldn't have secrets from me!" He muttered.

"How many secrets did you have that you kept from me growing up?" Eddie challenged.

"None," Danny lied.

Vito snorted loudly. Danny shot him a dark look. Even Eddie raised an eyebrow.

"None huh? So those beers that kept vanishing from the cooler, and the watered down whiskey, that wasn't you?"

"Nope," Danny lied.

"And the pigtails that got cut off of Bridget's head while she slept-" Eddie continued. 

"You did what?!" Steve snorted.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Danny lied stubbornly.

"And the broken window in Old Man Donahue's house-" Eddie continued. 

"Oh man that old grump had it _out_ for us after that. I mean, it was one lousy mailbox and a single broken window, who _cares?!_ We paid up! Miserable bastard. May he rest in peace," Vito muttered bitterly.

"That’s different pop. We told Ma all those things and she told you. You still found out. But my kids mother doesn't talk to me if she can avoid it," Danny argued.

"I thought you two were in a good place now," Eddie said.

"We are. We're avoiding each other. You can't argue if you’re not together," Danny nodded.

"They go through patches like this sometimes. Especially around the holidays. It's better than it has been though so-" Steve began.

"You don’t get to dictate how my relationship with Rachel is," Danny interrupted sharply.

"I thought you weren’t talking to me," Steve countered, smugly.

"I'm not," Danny lied.

"Alright. If I can't dictate your relationship with Rachel, why can you dictate mine with Charlie?" Steve challenged.

"Because your relationship with Charlie impacts mine!" Danny argued.

"How?"

"It just... it just does."

Danny bowed his head. It wasn’t exactly Steve's fault that Charlie had let slip that they had a secret conversation - even just one about the future - but he didn’t like being left out of things. Especially things that involved Charlie. He had missed enough of that kids life, he didn't want to lose out on more.  
Steve softened as he saw the way Danny sank into himself. He could tell when Danny was holding things back, and he didn’t like it. After every half truth and straight out lie from his parents and Joe and Catherine, the secrets made him uncomfortable. 

"Danno, you gotta talk to me. Please?" He muttered.

Danny glanced up uncomfortably. Steve never really could mask the begging in his voice. His desperation was quiet to anyone else, but to Danny it was deafening. 

Eddie cleared his throat as he shifted in his seat, "Vito? Lets give them some privacy."

"But it was just getting good," Vito whined.

"Don’t make me pull your ass out of that chair," Eddie warned.

Vito kissed his teeth. He got up anyway. It wouldn't be the first time Eddie had boxed his ears for snooping. The two of them headed up to the spare room, where Vito was staying to wait out the argument. While they were hidden away in here, they could get to the bottom of an entirely separate mystery. 


	10. Chapter 10

"This sucks, the moment we get some real entertainment around here and you drag me away," Vito complained. 

"It's the only way. We need to talk to that granddaughter of mine," Eddie declared.

Vito frowned. "Sophia?"

Eddie paused to shoot him a look of utter disdane. " _Grace!"_

"That makes more sense," Vito nodded.

"While they’re distracted we can talk to Grace ourselves and get to the bottom of this," Eddie declared. 

He made it sound easier than they could manage. Even with the coaching from his children and grandchildren, Eddie still hadn’t quite mastered the use of video chat. Between him and Vito the bickering cut each other off. Eventually they settled on just phoning her.

Grace sounded really confused as she answered with, "Aloha?"

"Aloha Gracie," Eddie said.

"Hey pop-pop-" she began.

Vito leaned over the chair as he tried to make himself heard on the microphone. "Heya Gracie!" 

"And uncle Vito... what’s up? What’s happened?" She asked urgently. 

Eddie was barking at Vito to back off so she waited for him to stop tapping on his phone as he searched for a way to turn loud speaker. 

"We were looking at the news Gracie, and we saw something interesting that I thought you could help me understand," Eddie said, pointedly.

"Ri-i-ight?" Grace said slowly.

"See, I'm a little confused about this weather report I've just seen," Eddie continued.

"Okay? I don't know why-" she began.

"It's about this storm," Vito added, "The one that's grounded all the planes in Vancouver." 

She cleared her throat, trying to stop it sounding awkward. "What about it?" 

"According to the news the storm missed Canada altogether. It stayed south. None of the airlines in Canada would even have been affected by it. Which makes no sense, because you said the plane you were meant to be on got grounded. Didn't it?"

There was silence at the other end of the phone which was all Eddie needed to know he was right. He and Vito shared a look. It was far more curious and forgiving than her parental figures would be. 

"Why'd you lie Grace?" Vito asked.

"You’re not gonna tell Danno or Steveo are you?" 

Her voice was small and close to the microphone. She didn’t want to be heard. Eddie's softened to hear it.

"What’s going on?" He asked gently. 

"One of my friends over slept in the hotel the airline paid for us to sleep in until they could book our new flight. They slammed the door in our face... it was heart breaking," Grace admitted. 

"But why lie?" Vito asked.

"I couldn't tell Danno we'd missed another flight, and my friend can't afford to buy a new ticket until her payslip comes in." Grace licked her lips as she cleared her throat, "On Saturday..." 

Eddie shook his head, "Grace, your dads are broken hearted that you’re missing Thanksgiving-" 

"Please don’t tell them! They'll never let me off of O'ahu again if they find out what really happened!" She yelped urgently.

Eddie clenched his jaw. She wasn’t wrong. They hadn’t been here very long but Danny had made it very clear he was uncomfortable with Grace being on the mainland without him. Danny had been a tightly coiled spring since they got there. If he found out she had lied about why she couldn’t come home, he couldn't pretend to be understanding, even though he'd try.

"Well, what if we got you two new tickets? Both of you could come home together then, right?" Eddie asked.

"I can't ask you to do that. Not at these last minute prices," Grace said.

"I'm sure two smart fellas like us can sweeten the pot and grease some wheels," Vito elbowed Eddie pointedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Grace frowned. 

"Nothing, nothing," Eddie insisted. He stepped away from Vito for a moment and lowered his voice. "But be honest Gracie, is that the real reason you’re not coming home? Just because your friend can't come too?"

"Of course, why else?" She asked. 

"It's nothing to do with certain union that may have been proposed recently?" Eddie asked. 

"Steveo told you?" She sounded surprised.

"Told us what?" Vito asked.

"He told me," Eddie corrected.

"Told you what? C’mon, what’s the big secret?" Vito insisted. 

"No one will blame you if you object to the union, but missing the whole thing by staying in Canada's kind of childish."

"What? I don’t object to anything! I missed the plane because I had to see Aunt Mary. I've got Uncle Steveo's ring in my pocket!" 

Vito gasped like a drag queen spilling tea. "Ring?! You mean- Steve's proposing?! To Danny?!"

"Who else would be propose to Vito?!" Eddie demanded. 

Vito stared forward vacantly and muttered, "I did not see that coming..." 

Eddie gave him a dubiously look, "Really?"

Vito really turned on a dime when he knew what this was all in aid of. At heart, he was a sap for love. That's why he had six ex-wives.

He leapt closer to the phone as he declared, "Well then you gotta get your butt back here missy! This whole thing can't start without you! You've got the ring! Is that why they’re arguing?"

Her voice tightened, "Who's arguing?"

"No ones arguing-" Eddie began instantly. 

Missing the urgency in his tone, Vito stated, "Danny and Steve."

"They’re arguing?" She gasped.

Eddie smacked Vito round the back of the head and snarled, "Thanks a lot big mouth!"

"Why are they arguing? Is it my fault? Because I haven’t come home?" Grace asked desperately. 

"No, no, of course not. Right Vito?" Eddie glared at him.

"Course not. It's not your fault sweet cheeks, you're golden. They just miss ya," Vito agreed.

"We all do," Eddie agreed, "But now we know the problem we can work this out and get you home."

"I can't ask you to buy my ticket, pop-pop, it's expensive," she insisted. 

"Nothing's too expensive for my grandkids. Although if it comes to it, don’t expect a Christmas present this year," Eddie joked.

"Grandpa-" she began. 

He knew that tone and rolled his eyes at it.

"Grace, without you here, there's no peace. Just arguing. and that's not what Thanksgiving is about."

Vito frowned dubiously. "Isn’t it?"

Grace sighed. Part of her was delighted that her grandfather and great uncle were willing to work so hard to get her home in time for the holidays, but she wasn’t sure how they'd manage it if they could. Still, whatever she said she knew they'd keep working with or without her. It wasn’t in their genes to give up until they’d exhausted every possibility. 

"So what do we do?" She asked.

There was a slight pause before Eddie said, "You hang tight. We can sort this ourselves."

"Mahalo!" Grace said.

She hung up with renewed hope. She had no idea what would happen now, but Vito was the kind of person who knew a guy who knew a guy. She had faith that they could get her home.

"So what do we do?" Vito asked.

"I have no idea. How much does it cost to get two last minute tickets from Vancouver to Honolulu?" Eddie asked.

"That's _way_ too expensive!"

Eric's heart was pounding at the mere idea of spending that many real American dollars on a single ring, even if it wasn’t his money he was spending.

"Danny didn’t give us a budget," Clara pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn’t stretch to half a million dollars grandma!" Eric argued. 

"It's supposed to be three months wages-" Clara began.

"For a _diamond,_ sure, but Danny doesn’t _want_ a diamond, remember?" Eric argued.

Clara folded her arms across her stomach. "I think Steve would look dashingly handsome with a diamond on his finger."

Eric rested his hands on top of the glass, where everyone could see that he was not stealing anything.

"Grandma, you think he's handsome anyway," he said.

"He'd be even more handsome with a diamond," she stated. 

"The only diamonds MC G cares about is Diamond Head. Lotta bodies on that peak," Eric said firmly.

Clara frowned hard at him, "You're going to ruin this whole beautiful island with your shop talk."

Eric rolled his eyes. Being appropriate was something he had been working on, but slip ups were easy when he was flustered. This shop he found himself in made him flustered. Just one ring in this flimsy glass case in front of him was worth more money than he could make in a decade. He was way out of his depth.

"Even if uncle D wanted a diamond, on his salary that's three years wages, not three months. Maybe the next store on the list has the kind of ring Danny's looking for," He insisted. 

Clara's shoulders sagged as she allowed her arm to fall. With it came a five thousand dollar ring that clinked on the glass and made Eric wince.

"Boring bland silver band. How daring," she said sarcastically. 

Eric tugged on her arm to try and pull her towards the door, "C’mon grandma, you know he's a bundle of nerves when it comes to weddings. He’s not exactly gonna push the boat out after what happened last time. That Rachel had such high tastes. Steve's nothing like that."

She shrugged him off with ease. "Sure, but he still deserves something beautiful to look at! Look at these Eric!" She pulled out her mobile to swipe through the approved screenshots that Eric had sent to her from Danny's phone (it was quicker that way), "They’re duds! Danny's throwing in the towel before he's even laced on his skates."

"Yeah well can you blame him? If you’re paying this much for a dumb carbon allotrope that’s only pretty because of how its cut not what its made of, you might as well hand over the rocks that are in your head," Eric huffed.

From behind the glass case, the shop owner glanced at Eric. Eric met his gaze and glanced him up and down. The fancy three piece suit with pearl cufflinks and highly polished shoes were one thing, but Eric could spot a fake Rolex from a mile off. He and Vito had sold enough of them. He wasn’t as fancy as he pretended to be, and Eric wouldn't let someone like him intimidate him. 

"What?" He shrugged.

The man just rolled his eyes. Eric's attention was drawn back to the situation by Clara’s hand on his arm.

"You'll understand when you meet the right person Eric," she promised.

"Nah, I mean what I said. I’m not getting married until I'm fifty. If it works for Clooney and Uncle D, it'll work for me. First time too," he smirked. 

"Well, three months of wages when you’re fifty and you’re a famous photographer might buy you half this shop!" Clara cooed.

"The kind of girl I marry won't want diamonds. She'd rather have something fun. Like a surfboard. Or a ground penetrating radar," Eric said wistfully.

He stared off into the distance as he imagined what kind of woman could be waiting for him in his future. Clara tilted her head at him curiously. 

"Whoever you marry will be a deeply interesting woman, I'm sure," she said.

There was no sarcasm or malice to her tone, like any of their other relations would have to theirs. Clara was just supportive. 

"What about this one? This one's nice, can we see this one please?"

She pointed to another sparkly diamond ring that Eric couldn't ever imagine Steve holding, let alone wearing. He tried harder to imagine what kind of ring he could actually see Steve holding.

As it turned out, he couldn’t see a ring at all.

"What?" Clara asked when she saw his frown.

"I dunno. I guess I just imagine that whatever engagement ring Steve has is more than just a ring. Like a Swiss army ring. Or one of those ones spies have where they pull a chord out and choke an enemy to death with it! Something real GI Joe, y’know?"

Clara blinked at him as she laid both rings back on the cloth the worker had laid on top of the glass for them.

"I should have brought Lou. He's the romantic one on this island. He’s the only one who would understand," she sighed.

Eric almost choked. "Lou Grover? Romantic?"

"He hides it well but a woman can tell," she nodded, smiling.

Eric decided the less he knew about that the better and chose not to comment. "Unless there's a laser hidden in this ring, I think we should be moving on."

Clara sighed, but agreed. None of these rings screamed Steve in the way she wanted them to. The two of them headed back towards the truck that Eric had parked down the road. To get there they had to pass another store with a huge window display. Eric walked past unphased, but something small in the window caught Clara's eye

"Eric?" She gasped.

"Yeah?"

He paused and looked back. He had gotten much further ahead of her than he was expecting. 

"What about that?" She pointed into the window.

Eric followed her gaze and nothing jumped out at him. "What?"

"That. Look," she pointed again.

Eric focused on following her finger this time, and saw what she was pointing at. He furrowed his brow when he saw it.

"Oh, I don't think Steve would like-" he began.

"It's perfect! Come on!" She cried. 

Clara latched onto his arm and dragged him into the store behind her, so he didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

By the time Clara and Eric came sneaking into the house again, Steve was finally out with Eddie. Danny was sulking in the kitchen though. The two of them had settled their bickering by agreeing not to talk about the future again until the whole family were there to sit around a table and discuss it together. It had been a bitter and sarcastic agreement, but it had been agreed. 

In many ways he was relieved. He didn’t have to worry about Steve catching wind of his proposal plans anymore, and he was always going to be appraised of their plans so he had more control over them. At the same time, it really took away the opportunity for spontaneity, and he was rarely that spontaneous anyway. It was slightly disappointing. 

Danny's idea of spontaneity was a perfectly planned and booked vacation that the other person could be surprised with. That way it sounded spontaneous but he was still fully prepared for it. The irony was that most of his life he was running out of the door at the drop of a hat to meet Steve and head to work. Those were technically his most spontaneous moments.

Clara skipped into the kitchen on her tiptoes like she was sneaking. Her beam was shining.

"Danny! We found it!" She whispered loudly. 

Danny blinked in surprise. "You brought the ring already?!"

"Grandma brought it," Eric nodded.

"I think it's beautiful," She declared. 

"It's not exactly what you asked for," Eric warned. 

"How not exactly?" Danny asked dubiously. 

"Take a look," Eric said. 

Eric nudged Clara to make her hand over the ring box. She held it out to him, grinning eagerly. It was incredibly clear to Danny who had chosen the ring. He couldn't help the apprehension as he took the box from his mother. When he opened it, Eric's hand moved nervously to his mouth. Danny's reaction was controlled. 

"This is... not what I asked for..." he said, slowly.

Clara's face fell, devastated. Eric groaned. That was a lot of money to spend on a mistake. It physically hurt. 

"What? It's a nice titanium band, with no diamonds-" Clara began.

Eric frowned at the lie. They were definitely diamonds. Tiny, man made diamonds, but they had a certificate of authenticity. 

Danny snapped the box shut. "Ma, Steve isn't very..."

He trailed off as he tried to find the words to explain why he didn't think Steve would love this ring in the way that she wanted him to. In the way that he wanted him to. In the way that Rachel had loved that soda ring pull.

"Very what?" Clara insisted.

Danny sighed and shrugged helplessly, "He's from the navy. Don't ask don’t tell. Hell, I didn't know he had any leanings until last Christmas- I had my suspicions-"

"I definitely did. All those navy buddies he’s so close with? _Way_ too handsy," Eric interrupted with a snort. 

Danny felt a spark in his chest as he glared at Eric. "Who?!"

Eric gulped as he realised what he'd said. "I dunno - some guys."

"What guys?!" Danny demanded.

"I don't know uncle D, some navy guys!" Eric shrugged. 

Danny hummed dubiously at him. Eric had grown up in the house with Clara, like the rest of them had, with the added benefit of all his aunts and uncles being just as nosey. He knew how to play dumb well enough that sometimes they wondered if he was really playing. Besides, this wasn’t the time to be jealous of Steve's past. 

"My point is, he’s not very out loud and proud ma. This is a little showy," Danny said. 

He opened the box again to prove his point. Clara disagreed. It was silver in colour, with a pretty platinum shine to it, and a shallow line curved around the centre of it. Along this line, the top of the ring was set with six gems. They were, in fact, coloured diamonds, but they looked like tiny rhinestones. Each one was a different colour. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. They were embedded flat in the metal, which was curved gently to round out the edges. Beside the silver shine, the tiny diamonds were subtle. Had they not been colourful, they would have been easy to miss.

"You can take it back, we kept the receipt," Eric offered.

At the suggestion, Clara's shoulders sagged, and Danny felt a rush of guilt. She clearly wanted to be involved. She hadn’t been allowed to participate in many surprises given her reputation as a gossip. This was a big secret too. A chance to prove herself.   
And after all, he still needed a ring.

"I'll ask Grace what she thinks when she comes home. We should hide this," Danny said. 

"No one's going into Grace's room until she comes home," Clara said. 

At the mention of her room as a hiding place, Eric's throat tightened and he licked his lips. 

"What? No. No, we shouldn’t go snooping in there, what about her privacy?" Eric insisted. 

"We won't look at anything, we'll just hide this in a drawer and go," Clara insisted back.

Danny held the box out and said, "Whatever, just don't uh, disturb anything or whatever, just-"

Clara grabbed it back and grinned, "Got it!"

She made a beeline for Grace's room. With a new found sense of urgency, Eric darted after her.

"Grandma wait!"

Danny sipped on his coffee and contemplated being concerned about Eric's urgency. He was clearly hiding something. But Danny had been dealing with him long enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, and elected to ignore it. For now away.

As Eric came dashing through the bedroom door, Clara was already looking around his hands hands on her hips.

"Where do you think we could hide this in here?" She asked eagerly.

"I don't think we should- _not there_!" 

Eric's heart thundered against his chest as he watched his grandmother open his cousins chest of drawers to find the drugs his uncle had given him to hide there. 

"Oh my God!" She gasped in horror. 

Eric shut the door behind them to give them some much needed privacy. "Grandma it's not what you think-" 

"What are these?! Are these-" Clara suddenly dropped her voice from the top to the lowest whisper she could as she hissed, "are these _drugs?!"_

"No- well, I don’t think so-" Eric stammered.

Clara clutched them to her chest as she gasped, "My grand baby’s a drug addict!"

 _"No -_ no, no, no! No one's addicted to anything-" Eric insisted. 

"Why else would she hide these in her room Eric?! Grace is an addict! We have to help her!" Clara cried in the lowest tone she could manage.

Eric reeled back in surprise. "Grace?"

It honestly hadn’t occurred to him that people wouldn’t automatically assume that a bag of unknown powder in someone else’s bedroom would be his. Now he had to pick a path. On the one hand, this offered him a get out of jail free card. On the other, it dumped Grace in it. It wasn't fair, but it was tempting.

"Her parents are police too, how could they miss this?!" Clara rambled.

"Grandma, that’s not Grace's," he hissed back.

"Then who’s is it?!" She demanded.

"Vi-" Eric paused.

If he told her the truth she would hit the roof and take Vito apart. She had done it before. It would all come out then. Danny and Steve would find out everything, including the lies. They'd rush off to find the source, and Vito would be pissed off. That would ruin the rest of the holiday for both of them.

In the end it was safer to just say, "mine."

Clara's face fell to a look of utter shock and disappointment. As guilty as that look made him feel, there was a certain relief to the shock in her eyes. At least he hadn't disappointed her enough to expect so little of him, like others. Until now that is.

"This had better not be to use on models young man!" She warned, darkly. 

Eric blinked in surprise, "m-m-models? No, no way, they’re already sloppy when they arrive, I don’t need them buzzing around the room when I'm trying to frame a shot, I mean- I mean, no, of course it isn’t Grandma."

"Then what is it here for?" she demanded. 

Eric felt the weight of the world crashing in around his chest again, so he did the only think he could think to do. He told Clara everything. He skipped out the small details like Vito being the one who brought Kamekona to the house, or the panic attack it gave him to try and sneak into the lab after all this time, but she got the jist.

"So they'll be gone in a few days, I swear!" He finished, earnestly. 

Clara shifted the bag in her hand, frowning. She glanced at the ring box in her other hand. It made sense to her that if someone had suddenly found drugs, even a small amount, in a restaurant that Steve and Danny used to own, they would take it as a personal slight and spend Thanksgiving tracking them down to arrest them personally. The endorphin kick after the arrest would inevitably make them both gooey. It was the perfect chance to slip up and ask without anyone there to see it.

Without _Clara_ there to see it.

That would really ruin her day.

It was against her better judgement, and with a purely selfish motivation, that she decided to help Eric. 

"Not that I don’t trust you but I watch a lot of reality shows about models and, well, I’m taking these away from you. Just in case," she warned.

"I need them nearby, I gotta get them into the lab on-" Eric began, anxiously. 

"Then ask me for them. And I’m coming to the lab with you, to make sure you hand them over," Clara said, firmly. 

"You don’t trust me or something?" He forced a smile. 

She gave him a soft, warm smile and gently cupped his cheek with her hand.

"Oh Eric... Don't be silly. Of course I don't, not as far as I could throw you. Stay here, I'll be back when they’re safe.

"But, I, err-" Eric was cut off by the slam of the bedroom door and his hand flew nervously to scratch his earlobe, "yep, okay, I'll uh... I'll stay here..."

For whatever reason, Clara headed back into the kitchen like she knew exactly where to go. She glanced around to make sure no one would see her as she slipped quietly into the room. There was a cupboard low down by the fridge that had baby proofing on it. She hadn't really questioned it - Charlie had grown up here after all - but it seemed like the only safe place in this house to hide things like this. Except maybe the gun safe, but that meant asking the combination and answering why she wanted to know. It wasn’t worth the risk. This was safe enough.

"What're you doing?" 

Clara jumped out of her skin as she tossed both the bag and the box into the cupboard urgently. It crashed loudly as the box bounced open and the ring fell out onto the shelf below it. She leapt back upright from her knees as quickly as she could, ignoring the ache in her back as she did.

"Nothing!" 

The lie slipped out as easily as anything, but it was apparent by Steve's raised chin and hooded gaze that he didn’t believe her. He glanced down at the cupboard she was hiding from him. Until recently, it was where they used to hide their junk food from Eddie. Chocolate and the like. Until Charlie learned how to undo the baby proofing anyway. Knowing this, Steve smirked to himself and folded his arms.

"You doing squats in my kitchen?" He challenged.

Clara blinked rapidly as she tried to think of a better lie, but one did not come. "Uh, y-uh, yeah... squats..."

"Uh huh." She was lying. He was trained to read liars. She was searching for something. Something chocolatey. "Y’know I could spot you if you want?"

"Spot me?" She repeated slowly like she had no idea what it meant. 

"Make sure your form is good. When you, y’know, _squat,"_ Steve said, pointedly.

He smirked as he curled the word on his tongue and watched the way she shifted awkwardly at the offer.

"That is... an idea." Clara didn’t want to sound negative, but she also didn’t want to exercise with Steve. Ever. 

Steve eyed her suspiciously. "Well I've just finished walking Eddie, but uh, if you want to join my work out tomorrow, I usually start at about five hundred hours-"

Clara rolled her eyes at the very idea of being awake that early. "Okay, okay, stop. It's a very nice idea sweetie, and I'm sure you'll somehow manage to get Charlie to join you again - I still don’t know how you managed it last time, when my kids were his age their idea of exercise was running away when Old Man Donahue found his cane. Anyway, it sounds wonderful but it is not something I am interested in, thank you, but no thank you."

"Alright well, if you change your mind you know where to find me," Steve smirked. 

"I do." The moment the words slipped out of her mouth she thought she had said too much, panicked and quickly added, "Know where to find you, I mean, _I do_ know how to find you..."

"Right," Steve said, smiling even through his confusion. He pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and moved towards the sitting room. As he went, he said, "Chocolates in the top cupboard, not the bottom. Gotta keep it high to keep it away from the dog."

"Ah, of course!" Clara called back.

She heard him laughing as he went, and almost collapsed with relief. Keeping secrets was never easy for her. She was itching to tell someone, but she refused to.

This was going to be the secret she kept. 

She was so caught up in thought she didn't notice Charlie. He crept into the kitchen, glancing about cautiously. He snuck up to tug at her sleeve.

"Grandma?" He whispered. 

"Charlie! What are you doing up?" She gasped.

"Shhh! I haven't drawn your hand," he said.

Her hand ran along his hair gently, "That can wait until tomorrow baby, you’re a growing boy, you need to sleep."

"But I want to do your hand turkey!" He whined.

"You can first thing tomorrow, I promise. Come on, let's get you back to bed before Danno sees you," she said.

She scooped him up, grunting as she did. He was heavier than she was expecting, but she was too stubborn to let that stop her carrying her grandson. But to do so, she didn’t have a free hand to shut the cupboard behind her, let alone put the child lock back on. 

Eddie's eyes narrowed on the unguarded kibble. 

He didn't know there was a ring was in there.


	11. Chapter 11

"He said if we could get him a turkey this last minute he would give us access to his private jet, and you want to give that up to get air line miles?!" Vito demanded.

"Just two hundred more and we can bring _both_ girls back to Hawaii for free," Eddie said.

"It's cheaper to get a turkey, why not give it a try?!" Vito demanded. 

"Because it's impossible!" Eddie declared.

"Nothing's impossible. Not when love is on the line," Vito declared.

Eddie frowned and eyed him suspiciously. "What the hell is wrong with you? You never care about love, now all of a sudden it's the most important thing?" 

"What, I can't just be a nice guy for the sake of it?" Vito asked, innocently. 

"You could but it's not really in your character," Eddie warned.

"I just hate seeing Danny miserable. If marrying this shmuck is what it takes to make him happy, and getting Gracie home is what it takes to get him to propose, you gotta do what it takes," Vito lied.

Eddie folded his arms and drily pointed out, "You gotta work on your poker face."

Vito pursed his lips as he felt Eddie's eyes narrowing in on him. He shifted awkwardly, trying to avoid his gaze. It didn't work. He huffed and threw his arms in the air.

"Alright! When Danny’s happy he goes home after work, okay? He doesn’t bring work home with him as much, which means he stays out of my business more. Business is a lot easier without Detective Watch Dog breathing down my neck, y'happy now?!"

Eddie broke into a smirk, "There he is. That’s the scheming bastard I know so well!"

Vito rolled his eyes. This was some thanks he got. All morning he had been on the phone to any and all contacts that he could get his hands on to try and scramble together a plan to get both girls home before Thanksgiving. What they had finally settled on was trying to pool their air miles to get the tickets for free. All they needed after that was a plane willing to take them today, now, so they were here by morning.

None of the airlines were exactly thrilled to have them persistently calling to try and bump the girls up onto flights they were never booked into in the first place. Some had stoppped answering them now.

Finally they had had a call from one of Kamekona's friends who knew a guy with a private jet and a lack of turkey for Thanksgiving. He said that if they could somehow conjure up a bird for him by tonight, he'd send his jet to fetch both girls home.

The air miles plan had taken a back seat at this new opportunity, but it was still very much there.

"Who do we know who can get us a turkey on short notice?" Eddie wondered out loud.

From the couch in the sitting room they heard Eric snort. "On this island? All turkeys have to be flown in special and ordered months ago."

Neither of them had noticed him laying across the couch on his back staring at his phone until he spoke up. He had clearly been there for a while, quietly gathering intel on what questionable plan got them to wake up so early that Steve was still out with Eddie on their morning run.

Eric continued, "Kamekona could maybe get you a live one-"

"Dyou think jet-guy could kill a turkey?" Vito asked Eddie.

"You don’t get private jet money without killing a few turkeys alone the way!" Eddie pointed out.

"You don’t get private jet money without killing the planet so you gotta be comfortable with death in some way," Eric added.

Vito glared at him in disdain. "Why you gotta be a downer?"

One of Eric's hands fell free from his phone to gesture like he was presenting his argument to them, "I'm just saying, global warming is real, private jets are killing us."

"Yeah well if Grace isn’t here by tomorrow it'll be _Danny_ killing us and that’s a lot more of an immediate threat," Vito countered. 

"Then I guess you two need a turkey," Eric shrugged. 

He went back to texting quickly afterwards. It wasn't long before their conversation was pushed aside and hushed over as Steve came jogging up from the beach. The dog was nowhere in sight though. Steve piled his usual smoothie mix into the blender, and paused. Eddie was never _t_ _his_ far behind him. Sometimes he'd get distracted by smells or a crab or stop to pee, but he always caught up before they got home.

He frowned hard as he finally arrived and hauled himself up the steps and straight into his bed. Steve leaned into the sitting room where there were people to give their opinions.

"Hey, do you guys think there's something wrong with Eddie?" Steve asked cautiously. 

"I feel fine," Eddie joked. 

"Oh, no, I meant-" Steve began.

"I know what you been son, I was goofing," Eddie assured him. 

"Right... sorry, I'm just... I'm worried about him. He keeps coughing and he's sluggish... it"s not like him," he said. 

Clara walked into the room with the laundry basket sat on her hip, and paused in surprise to see her family already gathered together.

"What are you lot all doing up?" She asked in surprise. 

"We're old men. We have to get up early for a full day of lying around the house before an early night," Vito joked.

Steve ignored him and beckoned her over so she could see the way Eddie curled up in his bed.

"Let me ask you something, does this dog look alright to you?" He asked.

"He looks fine, but uh, he’s your dog. You know him better than I do. If you think somethings wrong, maybe it is," she shrugged.

"Yeah..." Steve said slowly. 

He frowned as he watched Eddie snuggle into his bed, moving his paw over his snout as he did. 

"What are you going up anyway?" Vito asked.

Clara bounced the basket on her hip, "Laundry."

"Should I wake up Danny and ask him?" Steve asked.

"You want to wake up Danny to ask him if he thinks the dog is sick?" Eric snorted.

The last time they woke Danny up for nothing this early in the morning, heads went rolling. Steve turned his head towards him, and did a double take. He gestured to the baby locked cupboard that had been left ajar. His stomach hit the floor. 

"Why"s that cupboard still open? Clara did you close that last night?" He asked urgently.

"I did, why?" Clara lied.

Steve darted forward to investigate. "The child lock isn’t on it, he must have gotten into his food!" 

Clara gulped anxiously, "His food is kept in there?"

"Yeah that’s why we keep it locked, he'll eat all of it if he's not stopped. That's not good, if a Labrador eats too much too fast its stomach can flip," Steve explained. 

"That doesn’t sound healthy," Eric said, sitting up.

"It's not!" Steve was already dialling the phone before he stood back up. "it's McGarrett, I need an emergency appointment for my dog today and now, it's his stomach... yeah I'll be right there."

Clara tapped the laundry basket nervously as she watched Steve. He was clearly worried. It made her stomach ache.

"Danny!" Steve called.

"Why'd you need Danny?" Eddie asked.

"I need someone to help me carry him to the car," Steve said.

"Well Eric can-" Eddie began. 

"No, Eddie's not a big fan of the vet, it's better if he goes with someone he knows. Danny!" Steve yelled.

The worry in his voice tugged at Clara's heart strings. Everything in her wanted to tell him the truth, but she also didn't want him to know it was her fault. She didn’t want him to be mad at her. As Steve hurried off to wake up Danny, Clara dropped the laundry and hurried to Eric.

"Eric!" She hissed, hitting him urgently, "Eric, I put the ring in there." 

"The ring?" He repeated, like he had no idea what she meant. 

" _The ring_!" She hissed, shoving him repeatedly as she did "And... the other thing."

"What other thing?" Eric asked, thoughtlessly. 

"What other thing could I mean dumbo?!" She hissed.

"The bag of-" Eric sat up urgently, "Eddie could have eaten the bag of- _oh no_!"

"We have to tell Danny!" She urged.

"Calm down, he might not have eaten either!" Eric shrugged helplessly. 

Even he didn't believe that. He gulped nervously. Clara glanced down the hallway towards the stairs. She could hear Danny's grumbling as he got dressed. He always complained about being awake. Even when he was in diapers. But that meant they were safely upstairs and the crime scene was unguarded. 

"Go check," she urged.

"Why me?!" He hissed.

"Because we wouldn’t be in this mess if you had the guts to say no to your uncle!" She hissed.

"That's not fair grandma-" he began.

" _Just do it!_ "

Clara pushed him off of the couch and onto the floor to force him to go check out the kitchen. Vito and Eddie watched curiously as Eric scurried across the floor.

"What are-" Eddie began.

"Don’t, don't. It's easier not to ask," Vito said.

Eddie eyed him suspiciously. He was definitely up to something, but he was also right. The less Eddie knew, the less Danny could yell at him for. His eyes tracked the boy as he reached to the back of the cupboard and felt around for something. Eddie didn't see what he took out of it, but he hurried back to Clara with it.

"The bags still here, but its been torn... there’s still some in it though, we can still get that tested," he said.

"What about the ring box?" Clara asked. 

Eric gave her a pained look. "It's empty."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Did it fall out, is it on another shelf?"

"No, it's gone," he said seriously. 

"The dog ate the engagement ring..." Clara muttered. 

She sank into the couch seat and covered her mouth with her hand nervously. The sound of Danny and Steve moving upstairs got closer. Even the height of the tension couldn’t stop them bickering.

"We gotta go, you want the head or the tail end?" Steve asked.

"Are you kidding me? Obviously I'll take his head," Danny argued.

"What'd you mean obviously, what about this situation is obvious to you?" Steve demanded.

"It's obvious that you want me to take the tail end because you know Eddie's not gonna bite if he doesn’t feel well, but he might-" 

"That's not obvious Danny- y’know what? We don’t have time for this, get the dog!"

Danny and Steve hauled Eddie up between them to carry him out to the car. Eric and Clara followed them out awkwardly. They settled him on the back seat of Danny's car and Steve immediately darted straight to the drivers seat so they could get going. Danny took a moment to comfort Eddie a little longer before he shut the door. It was that moment that they took to dart forward and grab him without Steve. 

"Danny, there's something you need to know!" Clara said urgently. 

"What, what could I possibly need to know right now?" Danny sighed, impatiently. 

"There’s a good chance that uh-" Eric cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced down at his shoes,

"Eddie ate your engagement ring..."

Danny's eyes widened in alarm. "The engement- perfect, of course he did. Why would I expect anything to go _right_ on a day like today huh?"

"There's something else," Clara muttered. 

Danny rolled his eyes heavily, "What now, did you poison him too?!"

Clara and Eric tensed up and shared a tentative look as they tried to figure out how to respond. Danny's jaw dropped as he caught the look.

"Oh my god, you did, you poisoned my dog, what’s the matter with you?!"

"It was an accident!" Eric insisted. 

"Oh it was an - it was an accident! Oh well that makes everything just _f_ _ine_ then doesn’t it?! You poisoned my dog!" Danny yelled.

Steve leapt out of the car to demand, "What?!"

"Eric poisoned Eddie!" Danny yelled. 

"You did _what?!"_ Steve snarled. 

Clara took a step back as the heat fell on Eric. The way that Steve's steely glare burned into Eric was not something she wanted to experience for herself. 

"I didn’t mean to- it wasn't my fault-" Eric stammered. 

"Let me tell you something," Steve's voice was low and stern and it sent a bolt of terror to Eric's guts, "that dog in there is a hero. He’s a cop who has saved many, many lives- more than that he's the life and soul of the Five-O! He's ohana! You'd better pray whatever you did to him is counteracted, what did you give him?!"

Eric gulped, "That’s the thing, I don’t-"

"What did you give him Eric?!" Steve demanded.

"I don’t know - I don’t know okay?! Vito gave me drugs to test but the lab isn’t open and I don’t know what they are but Eddie might have eaten them!" Eric cried.

"You brought _drugs_ into my house?!" Danny repeated, stunned with offence. 

_"Potential_ drugs... here..." 

Eric held out the ripped bag for Steve to take. Behind him, Danny raised a hand to his eyebrow and turned away to muttered bitterly to himself.

"Potential drugs- I'm gonna kill him!"

Steve automatically held out a hand to hold Danny back. Despite the fact it was nowhere near him, it worked.

"Okay- alright, calm down-" Steve began.

Danny came up close to him and in a low, harsh tone, repeated, "Be nice. He's family. That's what you said right? He's family. Now look what happened!"

Eric's burning fear was destroyed by an icy blast of guilt. Clara closed her eyes as it smacked into her chest. Danny looked so angry. She couldn't bare the idea of that turning on her. Not again.

"I know, okay, I know, but we've got something to test now okay, Noelani will help us, so will anyone else in the HPD okay, everyone loves Eddie. Just think positive," Steve said in a softer tone.

"I'm _positive_ I'm gonna kill him," Danny countered.

"We can't wait any longer, we gotta get Eddie out of here," Steve said. 

He moved to the other side of the vehicle without even looking at Eric or Clara. Danny, however, pointed directly at Eric.

"Alright we, you and me, we are not done, do _not_ \- understand me _not_ go anywhere. Ma, look after Charlie for me tell him..." Danny held back a sigh as he realised he might have to give his son bad news when he got back, "tell him we'll be home soon, okay? Try not to let Eric poison him too."

At a loss for words, Clara just nodded. This was her fault. She should have said something. But she couldn’t bring herself to. 

"I'm sorry-" Eric began.

Danny cut him off sternly with, "We'll talk about it when I get back."

Eric blinked back the tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. It had been a long time since his uncle looked at him with that much disappointment in his eyes. A really long time. He sniffed hard as he felt Vito's hand cheerfully smack his shoulder.

"Wow! Who knew they'd be so protective of a dog huh?!" Vito laughed, "Hey, thanks for not selling me out-"

Eric shrugged him away bitterly and scowled, "Thanks for throwing me under the bus!"

Vito frowned at him. "What? I didn't say a word - I’m no ones snitch-"

"No, you’re no ones snitch, you're no ones anything are ya?!" Eric snapped. His head did most of the gesturing for him as he failed to stop the words from flying out of his mouth, "You’re the top of the food chain, you’re up there with all the other manipulators, getting someone else to do your bidding so you make a profit. Who cares if they get caught, what they lose, they're replaceable right? They could have said no, it was their choice to help you. I have seen men like you get hundreds of kids arrested while you stroll free - hell, _I_ got the evidence to arrest 'em! But I never saw it happening to me... Uncle Danny's right... I am a putz..."

Eric let out a blast of air somewhere between a scoff and a sigh. Then he stormed off towards his car. Vito was stunned. It took him a moment to react. In that time, Eric was practically beside his car.

"Hey, kid-" Vito began. 

Eric turned to walk backwards as he warned, seriously, "Leave me alone Vito. I mean it."

Vito blinked in surprise. Eddie sipped on his coffee from his place on the lalani. He had been waiting for this day since Stella first announced Eric was going to Hawaii. It took them far longer to get here than he expected, and there was still far more at risk than he had expected, but it was a necessity. Eric had opened his eyes and seen Vito for what he was.

A putz.

Eddie said nothing as Eric climbed into his car, but Clara finally found her voice.

"Where are you going?! Danny said not to go anywhere! Eric!" She called after him.

It didn't stop him. Eric drove off away from the house as fast as he could get the engine to rev up to on this bumpy terrain. In the blink of an eye, he was gone. The cloud he left hanging over them, was not.

...

"Stop pacing. Pacing is my thing."

Steve paused halfway across the empty vet's office to look back at Danny, confused. Danny had chosen his seat in the middle of the waiting room, holding onto a very out of date copy of People Magazine. He watched as Steve's hand flicked into the air, and then back at his chest, and his expression fell back to looking like he was having an aneurysm. 

"Pacing is your _thing?"_

"Yeah, I pace when I'm nervous and you turn into a one man army squad-" Danny began.

"SEAL team, Danny, a one man SEAL time, _how_ many times-" Steve began, impatiently. 

Danny straighten up to interrupt, "Why are you yelling at me?!"

"I'm not yelling at you, I'm yelling near you! I just don’t understand how hard it is to know the difference between army and navy okay?!" Steve complained. 

"Would you just sit down?! God you’re making me nervous! The last thing this place needs is both of us pacing," Danny grumbled. 

Steve huffed. He strode back to the chair beside Danny and collapsed into it. His legs flayed out in front of him and his arms were crossed across his chest as he sulked. Danny had seen it a thousand times. Usually he had a bullet proof vest on too, not just his work out vest. Again, Steve huffed a sigh. 

Danny tried to keep his voice calm as he said, "He's gonna be fine-"

"Did Noelani call yet?" Steve interrupted.

Calm went out the window just like that.

"She left like ten minutes ago, she's barely gotten to the lab yet! She will phone when she phones okay?! God!"

He exhaled, shaking his head as Steve pouted stubbornly. He kept glancing up at the surgery door that they had taken Eddie through like it would make someone appear faster. He tried to ignore the ball tugging at the base of his throat. 

"I can't believe Eric's gonna kill my dog Danny... Eddie's all I got..." Steve muttered.

"Well that's bull," Danny scoffed. 

Steve glanced at him and bowed his head again, "No... sorry, I know, I know I have you and the kids and Five-O but..." Steve glanced back at the surgery door hopefully, "Eddie's all I had when everything else went away. I love that dog man..."

Danny sighed. He slithered an arm against Steve's until he uncrossed his so that they could hold hands.

"I know Steve. I do too," he promised.

Tears stung at the edges of Steve's eyes. He pressed his head against Danny's searching for comfort. Danny cupped the back of his neck affectionately and pressed a kiss into his temple. Both of them had far too much experience of medical waiting rooms. They hated every second they were here.

When Danny's phone rang they both jumped to attention at the sound. He answered it quickly and had to use both hands to hit it urgently against his ear. 

"Noelani-"

"Hi, so I ran the details of the powder through the spectrometer and it hasn't come up with any results yet, but Charlie said-" she spoke with the same rapid explanation she always did, and probably wouldn't have stopped if Steve hadn't interrupted. 

"Fong's back?" He said in surprise. 

Fong had been away working on the big island for a while now, and in the short time since he came back, no major crimes had required Five-O to respond. They had no idea he was back. Not until they could practically hear him wave at the speaker phone Noelani had left on the side in the lab.

"Hey guys!" He beamed.

"Hey, what did you find?" Danny asked quickly. 

"Well I recognised the smell so I'm running a separate test but I'm certain that this is just a mixture of baking soda, citric acid and maybe essential oils," Fong explained. 

Danny glanced at Steve for clarification but Steve looked just as baffled.

"Which means what?" He asked.

"It's home made toilet cleaner," Noelani explained. 

"It's what?" Steve repeated in surprise. 

"Yeah, they've been getting more and more popular with mommy-blogs and pintrest and things like that. Its a cheap alternative to chemicals like-" Noelani began.

"But does it have essential oils in it because those are incredibly poisonous to dogs!" Danny interrupted. 

"We don’t know yet, but at least they're not drugs," she assured him.

"Yeah well Eric didn't know that," Danny muttered bitterly to Steve.

Noelani glanced up at the phone in surprise. She licked her lips as she said, "I take it he didn’t tell you he brought them into the house?"

"Of course he didn't, his motto is beg for forgiveness instead of asking permission. He doesn't accept that his actions have _consequences-"_ Danny spat bitterly. 

Noelani felt a tug of protection that forced her to interrupt to urge, "Don’t be too hard on him, he's really struggling. And he wanted to tell you but Vito and Kamekona told him not to so that you two wouldn’t find out."

Danny's mouth flapped open again as his eyebrows rose. "Noelani, and you telling me you knew about this the whole time?"

Her eyes widened as her heartbeat raced. "N-no uh, I - I didn’t mean-"

Steve took the phone from Danny and explained, "Look, whatever Eric did or didn’t do doesn’t matter right now, what matters is finding out exactly what we're dealing with so we can stop it causing anymore damage okay? Isolate whatever oils you can and let us know what they are right away, got it?"

"Yes commander," she said.

"Thanks, alright," he said.

Steve hung up and turned to look back at Danny. It was as if a pendulum had swung backwards and he suddenly needed to comfort the anger in Danny's chest.

"He told Noelani," he sighed bitterly.

"This isn’t her fault Danny," Steve reminded him.

"It's someone's. I don't care whose, if anything happens to Eddie, I just..." 

Danny trailed off. He had no idea how that sentence ended. Everyone in that house, in their team, they all loved Eddie. Even Lou and he hated animals. Eddie was special. Beyond that he was a sniffer dog. This couldn't be the way he went out. It would be humiliating. 

Steve ran a hand across Danny's back to gently ease him into a hug. Quietly he murmured, "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."

Danny sighed and nodded. He pulled away from Steve to sit back down with his magazine. Instead he just rested his head in his hands. Steve quietly sat opposite him. Steve's eyes traced the pain wracking through his partner. If he could make it stop he would, but if he knew how to stop pain - well it didn’t matter. He couldn’t. 

Danny raised his head again, and met Steve's eye. Steve bit his lip as his gaze traced the blue in them. He couldn't help falling in love with him. It just happened too easily, over and over again.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?" Danny asked.

"I'm not staring," Steve lied.

"You're staring," Danny said, firmly. 

"I'm not, I'm just- I'm just relieved is all," Steve shrugged.

Danny straightened his back, "Relieved? That Eddie's in hospital? That if he dies we have to tell Charlie-"

"No, obviously not that. I'm relieved that you're talking to me again," Steve explained. 

In the mess of everything Danny had forgotten that he was supposed to be mad at Steve. It happened every time. Some big emergency threw them into the and they automatically fell back into their usual rhythm.

That was what reminded him of the engagement ring, and where it currently found itself. Danny stood up without a word. Steve's eyes still followed him. 

"Where are you going?" He asked. 

"I'm going to check in with the nurse, I'll be right back," Danny shrugged.

As he leaned on the counter to try and ensure there was no chance Steve would over hear him, the nurse heaved a sigh.

"Sir, there is no update. We're still monitoring his blood levels-" she began

"Yeah, but I think... I think Eddie ate my engement ring," Danny interrupted, keeping his voice low.

The nurse blinked, almost unphased. "A ring? Alright, well if we do an x-ray-"

"Yeah, no, fine, but uh, but I haven’t exactly - I haven’t actually _asked_ yet, so right now its just a ring, you see what I’m saying?" He asked, pointedly.

"That your dog swallowed something that’s small and metal and shouldn’t have been left in reach?" The nurse said, drily.

This was not the first case she had seen of a dog ingesting something they really shouldn't. Usually it was fine, but it was never worth the risk of complications. Every time it annoyed her.

"Right, right, but can you just do me a favour and not tell my partner about the ring? Okay? That would mean a lot it you could just... not..." Danny trailed off slowly. 

The nurse pursed her lips. She eyed him carefully, and glanced over his shoulder to eye Steve too. It wasn't very often she saw two fully grown men as desperately concerned about their dog as these two clearly were. That, at least, she found endearing. 

"Alright. I'll let them know. But if the x-ray is obvious you’d better think of a good lie to tell because I won't," she warned. 

Danny just nodded. This was another argument that it just wasn’t worth having. As long as they were willing to go along with the lie, he would let her tone go.

...

Eddie and Vito tailed Kamekona as he bussed tables at the shrimp truck. They followed him because he wouldn’t stop to talk. 

"Kamekona do you have any idea where we could get our hands on a turkey?" Eddie asked.

"This for that author in that birds nest? The one flying in last minute and wants a whole dinner waiting when he arrives?" Kamekona asked. 

Eddie glanced at Vito for clarification. Vito clearly had no idea what he was talking about.

"Uh, maybe? It's for a guy with a private jet?" He said.

"That's the bruddah," Kamekona nodded. "Nope. We're all out. Last I heard he got some hūpō out looking for a bird he aint gonna find."

At that, both men stopped following him so they could shoot dark look at each other. They had known one another long enough that they could have arguments in expressions. Kamekona arched an eyebrow as he glanced between them.

"That’s you, am I right?" He asked.

"We need a plane," Eddie explained. 

"All I got is a helo," Kamekona shrugged.

"That won't get us to Canada," Vito said.

"Leaving paradise already? We haven’t even had our game yet!" Kamekona snorted.

Vito rolled his eyes. He moved forward and put his hand into the box Kamekona was using to collect up the cutlery. He held it down so Kamekona couldn't move away.

"For reasons I can't yet divulge, we need a turkey for a jet or a bribe for an airline crew member to get two tickets from Vancouver to Honolulu tonight," he said, seriously. 

"Sorry, can't help," Kamekona shrugged.

He jolted the box so Vito snatched his hand back. He grumbled as Kamekona snorted and walked away. Eddie moved to his side.

"What do we do now?" He asked. 

"We pray there’s an island catastrophe so Steve doesn’t have time to cook and we can trade in the turkey," Vito shrugged.

"By the time we get confirmation of that, it'll be too late to trade anything. We need to be wheels up in about five hours," Eddie said. 

"Then we'd better start praying!" Vito said, firmly.

...

"Now we've had confirmation that he hasn’t ingested any essential oils, we can move onto the secondary issue," the Vet explained.

Steve blinked in surprise, "Sec- I'm sorry, _secondary_ issue?"

"There is a solid mass in his digestive track that we'd like to keep under supervision," she explained. 

Both of them sighed. A solid mass anywhere was not reassuring. 

"Don't worry, it's probably just something he ate. Whatever it was, it was indigestible, and now we just need to insure it passes without pain," she explained. 

"For how long? To keep him here, I mean?" Danny asked.

The vet shrugged, "Just a day or too. It should pass naturally, but we'd like to monitor the situation."

"So you'd keep him _here?"_ Steve repeated. 

"He'll be well cared for," she assured. 

"But he'll miss Thanksgiving?" Steve said.

"Unfortunately so."

Danny groaned and rubbed his eye with his fingertips. Steve quietly reached over to lay a hand on his thigh. Danny's hand wrapped around his fingers. Neither of them were sure which one needed reassurance, but at least they had each other. When they left the vets office, Danny stormed away from Steve, in the vague direction of the car. 

"Danny?" He went ignored so he had to jog to catch up. "Danny, I know you’re upset-"

Danny swung around to face him and demanded, "What did you tell Charlie?"

Steve stopped in front of him and sighed. He reached out to rub Danny's upper arm gently. 

"We'll tell him that Eddie was sick, and that since he's getting old now-"

Danny shrugged him off roughly and snapped, "Not about Eddie! What secrets do you have him keeping from me?!"

Steve frowned. "What? Why does that matter?"

"Because Eddie's not going to be there for Thanksgiving, which means everyone left in that house is someone who is lying to me Steve! Keeping things from me! Eric, Grace, _you!"_

Danny he turned away again as he shouted at the sky. Steve watched him, baffled.

"What's Grace not telling you?" He asked. 

"I looked up the flight details she gave me, the plane took off without her," Danny muttered.

It hurt to know that she had felt the need to lie to him again, but it hurt even more to admit that. What was worse was the fact that Steve didn’t seem to understand. Danny felt his hand run across his shoulder, towards his chest. Tell tale signs that Steve was going for another hug.

"So she missed her flight-" he began.

Danny pulled away from him roughly, "It _took_ off Steven! She lied to me - she lied about the storm! She could have come home but she didn’t and then she lied! Why are you teaching Charlie to keep secrets?"

The desperation across his face ached in Steve's chest, but he couldn’t tell him the truth. As much as he hated lying, and being lied to, he had developed an easy ability to. It was the same way Joe used to. Being economical with the truth. Back then Steve had found that more frustrating than anyone else lying because he didn’t know if or when he could trust Joe, whereas he knew never to trust the others. Now though, he understood why Joe did it. Telling a half truth felt more just than a full lie.

"It was just about marriage. I know you’re not interested in it after everything, but Charlie had questions and I didn’t want you feeling pressured," Steve assured him. 

"Pressured?!" Danny snorted. There was a bitterness to his laughter, "Pressured! My whole family were supposed to be here Steve! Your whole family! Together! _That's_ pressure! Now my sister's aren't coming either, yours isn't either, Vito's got Eric hiding drugs in my daughters room, and I’ve been so wrapped up in myself I didn't even notice until Eddie..."

His voice died as a ball began to form around them and he hung his head. Steve darted forward to gather Danny into his arms. Danny buried himself against Steve's chest as he held him. 

"At least Eric owned up about the drugs, and he did it in time to make sure they can't hurt Eddie," Steve said gently.

"I just feel like everything’s falling apart around us..." Danny muttered.

Steve's hand moved from Danny's back to the back of his neck to run through his hair. Usually he was protective of his hair. The amount of product that it took to set it up was wasted when Steve mussed at it. Moments like this, that was the furthest thing from his mind, and he loved the sensation of fingers in his hair.

"Look, Danny, I know that the secrets and the lies suck - I know that better than anyone, but they're a fact of life. We wouldn't have a job without them," Steve warned gently.

Danny frowned. He peeled back from Steve's chest to look him in the eye. "You’re asking me to accept that my children are going to lie to my face?"

"I'm not asking you to do anything," Steve said, seriously, "Only to trust me. Look, I can't promise there aren’t going to be secrets between us - thing I can't tell you even though I really want to - but you have to know that anything I can tell you, I will."

"You think that’s good enough? Knowing there are secrets all around us, even when there shouldn’t be?" Danny asked. clearly he didn’t agree.

"It has to be. There will always be secrets," Steve said, seriously. 

"But... the kids..."

"They have their own lives Danny, they have their own privacy and that entitles them to secrets. You have to trust that they'll tell you anything they want to. Especially when its important."

"Even if they think it's more important to keep a secret for you?"

"Danny, I need you to trust me. If we don’t have that after everything we've been through then what the hell are we even doing?"

Steve's hand fell away from Danny's arms as he asked. Danny wrapped his own arms around his stomach. 

"I- I trust you, of course I trust you I just..." he sighed as he shook his head uncertainly, "it bums me out that Charlie's willing to keep secrets, it makes me wonder how many more he's keeping from me..."

"I can't imagine its many. He's a kid he’s got almost no filter, it all comes out in the end," Steve smirked. 

Danny chuckled along too. He glanced up at Steve, "Y’know he didnt wash Eddie like he said?"

"I heard," Steve laughed.

The soft laughing between them was tinged with relief and sorrow, but at least they were still laughing. Danny ran a hand through his hair and sighed. 

"I’m sorry."

"Don’t be sorry man, I get it, I understand."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Remember that, please, before I tell you another secret?"

Danny’s face fell. "Please tell me you killed someone because if its another family drama then frankly-"

"I forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer before the vets," Steve confessed.

Danny blinked. "So... so we have a frozen turkey that will probably still be frozen tomorrow?"

"That's about right," Steve nodded.

"Awesome..."

Danny pulled his phone out of his pocket and started typing something. Steve craned his neck to try and see what.

"What are you doing?"

"I’m cancelling Thanksgiving."

Steve's eyes widened. "You’re what? No. no don’t do that-"

There was a whooshing sound as Danny sent the text. Steve's phone buzzed. He snapped it up so he could see how much damage control he was going to need. It was just two words:

_Thanksgiving Cancelled_

Eddie looked up at Vito as they both read the message at the same time. Clara was kneeling on the floor, letting Charlie draw the outline of her hand as they did. 

"Is that Danny? Is everything okay?" She asked. 

"Thanksgiving's cancelled," Eddie said.

His eyes were still locked with Vito’s as he repeated the message. A smile spread between the two of them.

"Steve's not gonna need that turkey then," Vito said.


	12. Chapter 12

The affection between the two of them had swung back like a pendulum and a sourness hung in the air. Steve drove with his eyes fixed to the road and one arm on the wheel, without saying a word. Even though he stood by his declaration, Danny could help the urge to relieve the awkward tension lingering in the car.

"You're not going to change my mind. After everything that's happened, I want nothing to do with this stupid holiday," he said, firmly.

"And I’m thankful that you’re saving me from the one full meal I traditionally cook for everyone every year," Steve said, drily.

"You can do Christmas," he countered.

"Yeah. Yeah I can. I was just looking forward to this is all," Steve shrugged. 

"Well there's always next year," Danny said.

"I guess," Steve muttered.

Danny was beginning to sense that it wasn’t just Eddie in the doghouse. He allowed them to travel in silence for a while longer, until it made him uncomfortable again.

"Alright, Steveo, look-"

"No, you don’t get to Steveo your way out of this. Do you see how childish this is?! Things don't go your way so you cancel the whole day?! What’s the matter with you?!"

"Christmas is the superior holiday, it'll be better then."

"Who cares?! Christmas is in December, Thanksgiving is now! I wanted to celebrate now!"

"Why is this so important to you?!" 

"Maybe I actually have something to be thankful for this year!"

Danny looked at him in surprise. Steve clenched his jaw as he refused to meet Danny's eye. He wanted to be supportive. He really did. But he couldn’t help the disappointment swelling within him. Thanksgiving was his second favourite time of year, because it involved the _whole_ ohana getting together. It was always the day his house was busiest, and he loved it. He loved how the house buzzed. People crowded in together, making jokes, drinking, enjoying the fact they'd lived another year to make it back here - alright maybe it reminded him of his navy days. The good ones at least. 

Either way, he loved it.

"We still have the game," Danny said, quietly.

Steve couldn't find it in him to pretend that just one football game was enough. "Great."

Neither of them spoke again until they got back to the house and wandered into view of the kitchen.

"Ah you’re home!" Clara said.

"Where's Eric?" Danny asked.

"I made you both tuna salad sandwiches," Clara tried to smile but her eyes gave her away. 

She gathered both sandwiches on their plates onto a tray to hurry over to them with it. Clara had made her best tuna salad for these, and she had cut off the crust and cut them into small squares for them too. Steve reached for one.

"Thanks, I'm starving-" he began.

Danny automatically held up an arm to stop him from being able to reach, "don't. It's a bribe."

"It's not a bribe! Can't I just make my favourite boys a sandwich because I love them?" Clara gasped as if she was deeply offended. 

Danny folded his arms, refusing to be goaded. "You feel guilty ma and you should. Tuna salad isn't going to change the fact that you poisoned my dog."

"Danny-"

"I'm not eating that Ma." He pushed past her to call down the hall, "Eric!"

Clara took a deep breath and turned back to Steve. He had not moved. He was still eyeing the sandwiches. 

"I really am sorry Steve. Is Eddie okay?" She asked, quietly. 

"Eric!" Danny yelled louder. 

"He's gonna be okay, but they're keeping him under observation," Steve explained.

"That's good right? It means he’s being looked after," Clara said.

"But he’s missing thanksgiving. As well as everyone else," Steve sighed. 

Clara hung her head. Danny was going to be devastated when he realised she and Charlie were the only two in the house.

 _"Eric!"_

"He’s not here Danno," Charlie said.

"Where is he?" Danny asked.

Charlie shrugged as he poured glitter onto the table in front of him. It scattered onto the floor, but Danny was too busy being annoyed at other things to notice. 

"He left when you did. Where's Eddie?" Charlie asked. 

Danny clenched his jaw to stop himself from screaming. He beckoned Charlie over and held onto his shoulder to walk him into the sitting room. The look Charlie gave Steve was alarmed. Danny very rarely got angry, so when they marched like this, it was usually because someone scary had something dangerous and they had go leave fast. He didn't like it.

"Charlie can you take Steveo into the garage please? Help him fix the car," He ordered.

Steve and Clara shared a look. Neither of them were very comfortable right now.

Charlie frowned. "Danno-"

"I need to talk to Ma alone," Danny said firmly.

Steve knew that tone. There was no chance that this wouldn’t end without yelling. Or quickly. Steve picked up the sandwiches and laid an arm around Charlie's shoulders. 

"C'mon mini C. Let me show you how to change a tire," he said.

Charlie frowned. He still had hand turkeys to finish, and Eric hadn't found the string he had promised to find him so they could turn it into bunting. Yet by the way he was being pushed towards the garage he had a feeling turkeys were going to have to wait. Danny waited to hear the click of the garage door before trying to soothe the boiling rage in his blood.

"Ma, where is Eric?" Danny asked calmly. 

"I don't know," she admitted. 

"You let him leave?!" He cried, "After the one thing I asked-"

"I couldn't stop him, he’s a grown man and he knows this island better than me - not to mention I had to look after _your_ son-" she argued defensively.

"Where're pop and Vito?!" Danny demanded. 

"They took off too, I don’t know where they’re going, but you cancelled Thanksgiving and they said something about a plane!" Clara said.

Danny's jaw dropped as he yelled, _"they’re leaving?!"_

"Well you did cancel the holiday, what do they gotta stay for?!" Clara countered. 

"I only cancelled thanksgiving because we couldn’t all be together, now I cancel it and they take off, I can't wrap my head around it, its crazy! Crazy!" He shouted.

"You’re the one being crazy Danny! You are! You really think Eric meant to put that dog in danger?! Of course not! He was doing a favour for Vito-" Clara began.

Danny scoffed, "Oh yeah, I know Vito's favours. When's that kid gonna wise up?"

"He has! Give him a little credit-" she argued.

"A little credit?! What if _Charlie_ had found those drugs Ma?! What if it was _him_ in hospital instead of Eddie?!" He yelled.

"But he didn’t!"

"But he could have!"

"You’re always so negative, why can't you look on the brighter side of things-"

"The _bright_ side of - Ma, I'm a cop! It's my duty to report shit like this! When I don't things go wrong and shit like Matty happens!"

"Don’t drag your brother into this that’s not fair!"

Her eyes instantly glossed over with tears and Danny's argument died on his lips. He bowed his head in shame.

"No... sorry ma..."

As his anger eased off, Clara stopped closer to him. "What's really going on here Danny? You know better than anyone plans don’t go to plan, why are you so worried about everything?"

"Because I'm scared... I'm terrified actually.."

"About Eric? Or about Steve?"

"Everyone Steve's ever cared about has left him. I can see it every time he says goodbye to Kono. He's terrified it'll happen again and he'll never see her again... I wanted to propose tomorrow and show him how a family turns up to come together to celebrate things. I don't want him to see how scattered ours is, and get scared off," Danny sighed.

"You know he's met us before right?" Clara said.

"I'm serious," he said.

"So am I," she said, seriously. "Honey, the first thing that happened when I met him was a huge argument between you and me and he still did he best to make me feel welcome."

"He sent you into numerous dangerous situations with Lou without my permission-" Danny began to argue.

"And he took Eric under his wing, even though you and I both thought he was going to get fired on the first day-" Clara began to argue back.

"He almost did, the way he spoke to Kono-"

"I hear he helped you and your sister settle your differences over some guy-"

"You make it sound like we were arguing over the same guy, it wasn’t like that-"

"And even though he doesn't like Vito, he puts up with him. Opens his house to him. He's out in the garage with your son right now, teaching him to change a tire!"

Danny took a deep breath to try and draw back the frustration that was pushing him to scream at his own mother.

"What’s your point Ma?" He demanded.

"My point is get out of your own head for a change!" She shouted. "Steve knows family is complicated, but he's done his best to accept us no matter how crazy things get! And if he could talk the cops out of arresting Vito for trying to steal a reindeer, I'm sure he can work something out for Eric-"

"It's not- it's not the same thing ma! And he shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t have to. I should be able to say Eric stay here, and come home to find Eric still here! I need to know what happened Ma," he urged.

Clara hung her head. She gulped as she confessed, "It wasn't Eric sweetie... it was me."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Ma, don't cover for Eric-"

"I took the drugs away from Eric when he hid them safely in Grace's room where no one would find them, and I hid them in the baby proofed cupboard with your engagement ring and the dog food, and I didn’t shut the door behind me - this is my fault, no one else’s," she admitted, firmly.

Danny staggered backwards like the weight of the words had crashed against his chest. Clara had always been protective, but she was the kind of person who denied anyone's capability for crime rather than take the blame for herself. She and Eddie had paid off the damages to Mr Donahue's property all the while denying it was their boys' fault. He knew she was telling the truth, and that made his chest ache at how quick he was to blame Eric for everything. 

"Is that what the tuna salad is really for? Because you're the reason Eddie can't be here for Thanksgiving?" Danny asked. Clara closed her eyes and nodded quietly. Danny sighed. He put his hands on his hips and tried to process what he had learned. What felt like a life time later, he said, "Y'know... with Vito and Pop gone too the amount of people coming to Thanksgiving is exactly the same as a regular dinner."

Clara frowned. "Huh?"

"Well we were supposed to have you, me pop, Stella, Bridget, Sophia, Eric, Grace, Charlie, Mary, Joan and Steve. Now it's you, me, Charlie and Steve. And I can't even give Eddie the leftovers. I guess it's a good thing we don’t have a turkey," Danny hid his defeated sigh behind a small smile. 

"What happened to the turkey?" Clara asked.

"Steve didn't take it out of the freezer and now it won't thaw in time for tomorrow," Danny explained. 

"Oh no," she gasped.

"Doesn’t matter, because it's cancelled remember? We're just gonna play some football and then... I dunno, order up some garlic shrimp or something," Danny scratched the back of his neck and tried to sound like the idea sounded like any good at all. 

"Thank God it's a normal day tomorrow or that would be a terrible Thanksgiving," Clara said, seriously.

Danny sighed, "I know."

"Besides, your pop and Vito are coming back though. They haven't left for good," she added.

"What about the plane?" Danny asked.

"You think we can afford last minute plane tickets around the holidays?! Last time I came here I used illegal money and we got booted into an FBI interrogation, remember?" Clara scoffed.

"I really hope whatever they’re doing is legal," Danny groaned. 

If Vito was involved, legality would certainly be questionable. 

"I'm sure they’re fine. One of them is level headed. It's Eric you should be concerned about. He’s emotional. He yelled at Vito," Clara explained.

Danny scoffed, "He yelled at Vito? What about, the high blood pressure again?"

"Don’t joke about that, he's already had a heart attack once! Switching him to light mayo was not easy!" She scolded. 

Danny rolled his eyes. Vito was as stubborn as a mule, if he didn't want to eat light mayo, he wouldn't. Just because they had refused to buy any for him when he came to visit them didn't mean he was eating regular mayo everywhere else.

"The argument ma, what was the argument about?" He asked. 

"He said he felt like he was Vito's putz. Like he'd never amount to anything if he let Vito use him as one. Sound familiar?" She asked, pointedly. 

Danny pulled a turtle-like face as he shook his head. "It's something vaguely smart Eric said, why would that sound familiar? The only time he says intelligent things is when he’s reading them off a screen!"

 _"You_ said it, you shmuck!" Clara shoved his arm as she huffed at him.

"What? When did I?" He frowned. 

"Oh please, you use the same speech every time one of us gets arrested! That's a line lifted directly from it, and you know it. That boy's doing all he can to prove to you that he's trying to be better, and you've done nothing but demand more from him since the moment I arrived," she said. 

Danny shook his head and insisted, "Ma, he brought drugs into-"

 _"Vito_ brought drugs into your house. Be mad at Vito. Eric's a victim too!" She argued. "If you want Steve to know what family is about, you'd better know it yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sometimes you have to step up and forgive your family for doing something amazingly stupid Danny. Even if its for the millionth time. You have to accept them for who they are, and help them to be the best version of that. It's the hardest part, but he most important. That's what proves that you can rely on them for anything, forever. That’s what you want Steve to see. _That's_ family."

...

Steve's garage was fairly soundproof but yelling usually made it's way through. It took him by surprise how quickly the yelling had ended, but then again, it was an argument with Clara. She had a certain tendency to win arguments before they ever started. Just in case, Steve decided to stay in the shelter of the garage. He wasn’t sure how long they'd have to stay here though so he opened the garage door to give them more space to move. 

"You've got to really push it Charlie, really put all your weight into it," he instructed. 

Charlie grunted as he tried hard to heave on the tire iron enough to make it even twitch. It just wouldn't budge. Steve had vague memories of his father pulling this same trick on him once. John would sip on his beer and chuckle as he spurred Steve on. Eventually he'd get frustrated and give up, and John would show him how much easier it was when you were older and stronger.

"Here, let me see if I can manage it," Steve said.

Charlie wiped his hands on his shirt as he stepped back from the car. Steve didn't have a beer to set aside, but he set down his sandwich instead. With two rough tugs, he loosed the nut enough for Charlie to unscrew it.

"That's why you need to keep fit Charlie, so you can build up your arm muscles," he teased.

"Pushing this pile of junk up the hill because it broke down again will help with that," Eddie joked.

Steve looked up to see Vito and Eddie wandering up the driveway together. 

"What're you doing here, I thought you were inside," Steve said.

"We had some important business to attend to," Vito shrugged.

"Business?" Steve repeated suspiciously. 

"Of the catering kind," Vito smirked

Eddie shot him a warning look as Steve rolled his eyes.

"Oh. Kamekona," he said. 

"How’s the dog?" Eddie asked.

"He’s doing okay. Apparently he swallowed something he shouldn’t have, and now they’re waiting for it to come out," Steve explained.

The two grown men pulled disgusted faces which made Charlie tilt his head. 

"Come out how?" He asked, innocently. 

"Uh..."

The question took Steve by surprise and he looked to the others to help. Vito, being as helpful as every, did a short mime for Charlie. 

Then he flicked his hand like it was ejecting something as he said, "Plop."

"Oh. _Ewwww!"_ Charlie was disgusted but he still giggled.

"Any idea what it was?" Eddie asked.

Steve shook his head. "No, none. Whatever it is though, they can keep it."

"How mad is Danny?" Vito asked cautiously.

Steve's face fell. The concern in his eyes was palpable. "He's arguing with Clara right now. He's getting majorly overly upset about all this. I don't understand why it's so important to him. I mean, as long as it's him, me, this one and Grace, it's perfect. For me anyway. I don’t understand why he's getting so worked up..."

Eddie and Vito shared a look while Charlie kept his head down and pretended to focus on the tire he was trying to removed from the car to avoid attention. 

"Maybe he had something special planned," Vito shrugged. 

"Something special?" Steve repeated, uncertainly. 

"Like a wedding?" Charlie muttered.

"Wedding's take a little longer to plan than Thanksgiving buddy," Steve said.

"And with weddings there's usually two people going loco," Vito smirked.

"Doesn’t matter anymore. Thanksgiving is cancelled," Eddie reminded them.

The disappointment heaved through Steve's chest all over again. 

"Yeah well, good. With Christmas coming up, who even wants another turkey?! And Christmas is the superior holiday-" Vito ranted.

"What are you talking about? The whole turkey meal is the best part of the day!" Steve interrupted.

"What?! No way! The game is!" Vito lied stubbornly. 

"I assume you mean the game on TV?" Steve asked.

"Prime time entertainment," Vito nodded.

"Maybe it is for people too old to actually play it anymore-" Steve scoffed.

"How's that tire coming along Charlie?" Eddie interrupted.

Changing the subject loudly and firmly was usually the only way to and an argument these days. Charlie held up a hubcap in one hand.

"I took the wheel thing off," he said.

"Hubcap buddy, good job! Now you gotta pick up the tire," Steve grinned.

Charlie nodded. The other two gathered closer to Steve to watch as Charlie tried to pick up the tire. It was dirty and it was heavy and it was almost the same size as him. They bit back fond laughter. Old memories came back to them of themselves at similar ages, learning to change tires for the first time. The struggle to pick it up riddled Charlie's face until he gave up with a huff.

"I can't!" He whined.

"Sure you can, just try again," Steve encouraged. 

"But it's heavy!" Charlie whined.

"Alright, let me," Steve chuckled.

He wandered over again and lifted the tire off of the car with ease. He set it down on the floor beside Charlie, and flashed him a grin.

"Remember what I said about muscles? Never skip arm day," he winked.

To showboat, just a little more, he made a point to show off his muscles and kiss his bicep. Behind him, Vito snorted.

"He's right Charlie. You need to be fit all over, arms and legs! You can't skip either one," Eddie agreed. 

Steve reached over to clap a hand on Eddie's shoulder and declared, "Listen to this guy, he fights fires! He saves lives for a living!"

Eddie laughed, flattered, and pointed out that he was retired now. 

"I thought you did too, super SEAL," Vito said.

Steve gave him a sharp look. Calmly, he asked, "And what exactly is it that you do Vito?"

"What is this, a court of law? I don’t have to answer that, I'm a legit businessman, shut up," Vito huffed defensively. 

"And what legit business transactions are you getting back from?" Steve smirked.

Vito smirked back. His was more smug. "I'll tell you tomorrow."

"It better not involve Eric. You’ve got that kid into enough trouble," Steve warned.

Vito frowned. "You too?! How is this my fault?!"

"How isn’t it Vito?" Steve scoffed.

"I'm with Steve on this one. You’ve been a bad influence on that kid since he was Charlie's age," Eddie agreed.

"I didn’t do nothing but support him," Vito lied.

"There’s more to raising kids than support Vito. You also need them to know right from wrong," Steve said.

"What makes you such an expert?" Vito demanded.

Steve took a step to the side so that Vito’s eyeline to where Charlie was stood, was clear. 

"Charlie knows right from wrong. He’s a good kid," he said.

"Yeah? Lets test that huh?" Vito challenged.

The idea of the game was to name a thing and see if Charlie said it was right or wrong. They went through stealing, graffiti, taking candy from strangers, helping people cross the road, and various others before they got to lying. That was when Charlie started to have questions.

"What if I'm lying to keep something secret?" Charlie asked. 

"Only if it's a good secret," Steve said.

"What if keeping it secret makes someone upset?" Charlie asked. 

Steve glanced uncertainly to Eddie, who made no attempt to help him. "If it makes someone more upset to tell the secret then you shouldn't tell the secret."

"But what if it means lying?" Charlie asked.

"Um..." Steve frowned.

There was a pause as he realised that he had no idea what the answer should be. 

"What's the secret?" Vito asked, grinning. 

"Steveo said not to tell," Charlie said.

Eddie and Vito turned their attention to him. "Steve?"

Steve was beginning to realise that if he didn't propose soon then Charlie was going to be caught in a cross fire he didn’t deserve. Yet he couldn’t propose without Grace, because she had the ring. This entire plan felt like a mess. As for lying, as much as he wanted to claim lying was bad, lying was what he did for a living. Weaving more lies into a web until the entire thing unfolded was how he caught out criminals all the time.

Steve wished Kono was there to call him a wuss and push him into action. 

Changing the subject entirely, Steve declared, "Now we need to put the wheel back on!"

...

Waking up on thanksgiving morning usually meant waking up to the smell of pumpkin spice, the sight of crisp orange leaves, and the promise of good food to come. With that in mind, Danny wasn't expecting to wake up to his partner shaking him awake and looking scandalised. 

"Did you take my turkey?!" He demanded. 

"What?" Danny croaked.

"I decided I was going to cook the turkey anyway, Thanksgiving cancelled or not, and when I can't find it! Where's my turkey Danny?!" Steve demanded.

It was far too early to deal with this. 

"Whenever you left it, go away," Danny mumbled bitterly.

Danny tried to roll back over and take the duvet with him, but Steve yanked him back before he could.

"Danny, I swear-"

"Why would I take your turkey Steve? You love that thing more than you love me, I wouldn’t dare touch it!"

"Firstly, I don’t love anything more than I love you, that's not possible, and secondly-"

"It's not huh?" 

Danny let slip a sleepy smile so warm that would have made Steve melt back into the fold out bed with him if he hadn’t been so wound up.

 _"Secondly,"_ he continued, stubbornly, "you stole my turkey to cancel-"

Danny couldn’t handle being yelled out for cancelling Thanksgiving again. He waved a hand to interrupt.

"Alright, alright, I get it! I shouldn’t cancel a holiday because I’m upset-"

"No!"

"But I didn't steal the turkey!" 

"Then who did?!"

Danny sighed impatiently, "I don’t know, maybe the turkey fairy flew in and magicked it away for fairy Thanksgiving-"

"I'm serious! Who would take a turkey?" Steve demanded.

"You’re a detective, you tell me," Danny huffed.

Once again he tried to roll over and once again Steve stopped him. "Usually I have an expert partner on the case."

"You've solved cold cases in your sleep, this should be nothing," Danny mumbled into his pillow.

"It'll be easier with my partner!" Steve insisted.

Danny sighed. He rolled over to look up at Steve from the flat of his back, with one arm flung above his head. "You're not gonna let me go back to sleep until you find the bird are you?"

Steve grinned, "What'd you think?"

Danny sighed. He pushed himself to sit up as he grunted, "Was anything else taken?"

"No, nothing else!" Steve declared. 

He was far too energetic far too early, and Danny couldn't smell any coffee, so this was all pure Steve. It was incredibly irritating. Cute, but irritating. 

"And there's no sign of forced entry-" Steve continued.

"Which rules out home invasion," Danny finished.

"So I think it was an inside job," Steve declared.

"Is Eric back yet?" Danny yawned.

"You thinking revenge motive? That maybe he got drunk and spiteful and stole the turkey to make a point?" Steve asked.

"I don’t know, maybe, didn’t you make coffee before waking me up?" Danny grumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

Danny was useless until he was caffeinated. Steve knew that. Usually he started brewing a pot before Danny even woke up.

"It's a good theory, but he never came back last night, so he's not had the opportunity," Steve said.

Danny's eyes flashed up to him, urgently, "He didn't come back?"

"Now, Clara wouldn't want to show her hand, she's already upset that you're mad at her-" Steve began.

"Where would he go for the whole night?" Danny asked, frowning. 

"Which leaves Charlie, Eddie and Vito. Well and you, but you say you didn’t do it-" Steve continued. 

_"Steve!"_ Danny threw his pillow at him in frustration, "Enough of this, would you shut up for a second?! Where is Eric?"

After the pillow missed him by a mile, Steve recalibrated. He wrangled his mind back to Eric, just like Danny wanted.

"Well his apartment is still flooded and the damages will need repairing before he can go back, and he’s not allowed to stay in his studio for 48 _consecutive_ hours-" he recalled out loud.

"Although he's only been missing for, what, like thirteen hours?" Danny said 

"Right, so maybe he's there. Or maybe he's staying with a friend. Jerry's still on the island, they're close, maybe he’s there," Steve shrugged.

"Maybe..." Danny muttered dubiously. 

"Hey, he’s a grown man. He can look out for himself," Steve assured. 

"Yeah, I guess..."

Danny wasn't fully convinced. Sure, Eric was technically a grown man, and technically he had solved a lot of criminal cases, and he had his own start up business, but for all he had achieved he was still a kid to Danny. On some level he was always going to be the toddler in an oversized shirt down by his knees and a curley purple moustache drawing felt tip pictures on Stella's walls to Danny. Even when all he could see to look at him was the immature teenager who learned to hot wire cars just because he could. Neither of them could look out for themselves.

"Do you want me to ask someone to ping his phone?" Steve offered. 

Danny glanced up at Steve. They held eye contact for a long, slow pause, until Danny finally shook his head. 

"No. No, if he doesn’t turn up to the game, then I'll worry," he said.

He was already worrying. It was a curse that came with caring. A side affect of affection. Whenever the people he loved weren’t where he expected them to be, his mind instantly went to the worst situations. He had seen too much not to. 

"What time is it in LA?" Steve asked.

"Uh, like, eight am. Why?" Danny asked. 

"Mary's the only person I know who tried to find a turkey for sale on Thanksgiving-" Steve began. 

That quickly they were back to the case of the missing turkey.

"Don’t wake up Mary over this," Danny interrupted. 

"She'll know how much they're worth!" Steve insisted.

"I'm serious babe, don't- do not phone her at eight am to ask her how much a turkey costs," Danny said seriously. 

"Someone stole my turkey Danny. I will find out who. If I can't find out who stole our power tools, the least I can do is work out who stole this!" Steve declared. 

He paused to kiss Danny before making a beeline to the crime scene.

"Steve- at least make coffee first! Steve!" Danny called. He paused to listen for any response at all. None came. He shrugged, "Alright I tried, I'm going back to sleep."

Maybe he would have too, if he hadn’t heard the unmistakable sound of someone trying to sneak down the stairs without waking anyone up. He sat up to see who. Eddie and Vito froze as they made eye contact with him.

"Where are you two going?" He asked, casually. 

"Jeez, don’t you ever sleep?" Vito complained.

"Not when there are criminals under my roof," Danny said.

"C’mon now, that's not fair! You knew he was a criminal before you invited us here!" Eddie said.

Vito shot him an offended look that Eddie ignored. 

"We felt bad about everything that's been going on, so we got you a present," He lied.

"A present?" Danny repeated suspiciously. 

Steve came darting out of the kitchen so quickly that he almost stumbled over his own feet, "Did someone say present?"

Danny gave him an unimpressed look. "You hear that but you don’t hear me asking for coffee?"

Steve shrugged. Danny rolled his eyes. Without Eddie there to run rings around him, Steve's mind didn't get the same workout it usually did when they went out in the morning. He liked keeping track of Eddie as he went bounding through the bushes and trees. It was like keeping an eye out for snipers when his team went tracking through the jungle. That kept his mind working while his body trained too. Without that, he was looking for a new outlet.

"Sorry Steveo, it's more if a show of good will than a physical gift," Eddie chuckled. 

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"We've gotta go and pick it up now," Vito said.

"So it is a physical gift?" Danny asked.

"Is this something to do with my missing turkey?" Steve asked, suspiciously.

Eddie was keenly away that if he gave away any minute indication of guilt, like, say, glancing at Vito as he wanted to right now, Danny and Steve would pick up on it. He fought every urge to react at all as Vito gave his best portrayal of innocence. 

"Missing turkey?"

"Don't be mistaken, if it is, I'll find out. I find out about everything on this island. Just ask Jerry about the elephant," Steve warned.

Vito now glanced at Eddie for clarification. Danny, however, glanced at Steve.

"What elephant?" He asked. 

"The elephant he and his sister stole from the circus? The one Eric helped cover up? Did I not tell you about that?" Steve asked.

By the look of bewilderment on his partners face it was clear that he had omitted to mention that story. Or, at least, he had promised to explain later and later never came.

"Uh, no, no you did not, I think I would have remembered if that uh... if that had come up," Danny said. 

Steve just shrugged apologetically. "Thought you did."

By the look of exhausted irritation that clouded Danny's face, it was obvious that more bickering was on the horizon. While they were busy with that, Eddie and Vito could edge out of the door. They almost got away until Danny clicked at them.

"Hey, hey, where are you actually going?" He demanded.

"We'll be back before the game," Eddie promised. 

"That’s not what was asked," Steve warned.

"If you're going to see Eric tell him... tell him he'd better still turn up for the game. We'll have to test him to make sure he’s not doping, but we need him to play," Danny said.

"He didn’t take anything Danny-" Vito began. 

"There wasn’t anything to take, it was soap-" Steve began.

"I can't have an argument before I've had coffee. You - you jerk - you woke me up, you make me coffee!" Danny barked.

Steve bowed as he stepped towards the kitchen, "Yes your majesty."

"And you two - if this does turn out to have something to do with that missing turkey you had better come up with a real good excuse because that turkey was Steve's baby. You don’t want an angry SEAL with immunity and means after you, do ya?" Danny warned.

"Trust me-" Vito began.

"No," Danny interrupted sharply.

"Trust _me._ Its a good excuse, son. I swear," Eddie promised.

Danny hummed dubiously. "Go on then, get out of here before I change my mind. Maybe I can try and get some more sleep before-"

 _"Steveo,_ _where's the glue gone_?!" Charlie yelled from upstairs.

Danny looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "That's not gonna end well."

...

Danny sat cross legged beside Charlie in the living room, cutting the handprints out of the paper for him. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Clara was sitting on the side where Danny usually sat, watching Steve as he pinned up crime scene photos onto the kitchen cupboards. He took a step back to breath it in.

"The turkey was not removed from the freezer before I left for the vets, which means it was either removed before I came home, or during the night," he declared.

"I was here the whole time you were gone, and I didn't see anything," she said.

"Yeah but if the thief went out the back door you might not have noticed," He said.

"Did they leave the lasagna?" She asked.

"Yeah. That means we can rule out Kevin," he said.

"Why would Kevin steal your turkey? Does he even know where we live?" Danny called.

"With the amount of shoot outs, break ins and bombs I've had in here, I'm pretty sure everyone in the HPD knows this address," Steve called back.

Danny rolled his eyes. He lowered his voice so only Charlie could hear him. "I can't believe I’m gonna marry that idiot."

"Its not nice to call people names Danno," Charlie warned.

"I'm not calling Steveo names, I'm describing him," Danny assured him. 

Charlie gave him a dubious look. He wasn’t sure what Danny meant, but he wasn’t convinced it was enough of a distinction for him to get away with. The sound of a vehicle coming towards the house distracted him. 

"That's a car," he said.

"Its probably Eric," Danny said.

Charlie sprung to the window to find out. Had he been a cat curiosity would already have killed him. 

"S'not Eric. It's-" Charlie gasped suddenly.

Danny's head snapped up at the sound. "What is it bud?"

Charlie didn't answer. He scrambled away from the window to dart for the door. Danny frowned. Instinctively he called for back up.

"Steve!"

"What?"

When no response came, Steve went to investigate. He was surprised to find the room empty and the front door hanging opened. He was even more surprised by what he found in the driveway.   
Eddie and Vito had returned. With them, wearing a fur lined puffer vest, high boots, and a plaid shirt that made her look like a mountaineer, Grace was hugging her brother tightly. The utter delight in her beam was nothing compared to the exhaustion in her eyes.

"Grace?!" Danny cried.

He jogged over to her, with his arms outstretched, and bundled her close to him. Charlie found himself squished between the two. Not one to miss out, Steve dashed over to join the hug.

"Long time no see stranger!" Steve beamed.

Grace let out a laugh, but it was strangled by the weight of their hugs. They peeled back to grab at her arms and pat her shoulders to hold her close. All the while they talked over each other, asking the same questions, and grinning with delight that she was back. A riot of chatter filled the air as the family swarmed her. It was Charlie who tugged her towards the front door by her arm though. 

Grace let him drag her inside while she tried to talk to Danny and Steve over her shoulder. Steve never did send Junior to collect her things, but fortunately - despite the humiliation - Vito had thrown a fit, demanding the airport staff find it, and they had. Steve grabbed the bags for her to carry them in. Danny declared that he was going to make pancakes so they could celebrate the fact she was finally home.

"Where are we going Charlie?" She asked finally. 

Charlie pushed down on her shoulders to make her sit beside the coffee table with him.

"I need your hand!" He declared.

"How did this happen? I thought you missed your plane!" Danny asked.

"I did- wait, no, uh- I didn’t tell you that!" She fumbled over her lies.

Charlie grabbed her wrist and pushed her palm down onto the paper so he could draw around it whether she like it or not.

"Y’know there are coloured feathers under by bed if you want them Charlie," she said.

His eyes widened in wonder, "there are?!"

"Yeah, they’re in the blue box-" 

She barely finished her sentence before he was off to track them down. He dashed around Steve as he set Grace's suitcase on her bed. He completed the loop around him, clinging the bag of feathers to his chest as he went. Steve blinked in surprise at the miniature tornado that had just spun around him.

"Seriously, what happened? How are you here?!" Danny asked, in disbelief.

"It was pop-pop and uncle Vito. They got us on a private jet and-" Grace began. 

"Hold on, hold on, hold on - the plane was a private jet? And you didn’t mention that?!" Steve interrupted.

"I don't believe we mentioned anything," Eddie smirked. 

"How'd you pay for that?" Steve accused.

"We traded. Favour for a favour," Vito shrugged. 

"The same kind of favour you had Eric do?" Danny demanded.

"Eric's a grown up, he can make his own choices," Vito huffed.

Danny's face twisted in anger or disgust, Steve couldn't tell which, but he agreed. 

"You seriously don’t see what you did wrong do you?!" Danny spat.

Before Vito could open his mouth to argue, Grace had questions of her own.

"Where's Eddie? Usually I can't breath by now," she said.

She looked around, trying to crane her neck to see if Eddie was napping. She was so busy glancing around that she missed the looks the adults shared. None of them had bothered to tell her because they didn’t want her to worry unnecessarily. They hadn't expected her home so soon.

"Oh, um..." Steve began.

Her eyes narrowed on him as her stomach dropped. "I don’t like it when you say um. Nothing good ever follows."

Steve glanced at Danny. Danny rubbed the back of his neck and deliberately avoided eye contact. 

"Hey, you've been travelling a while. That always knocks it out of me. Why don't you go lie down?" Steve asked.

Grace eyed him suspiciously. She glanced across at her relatives. Each of them looked away like this was something they didn’t want to tell her. Clara even backed away into the kitchen to avoid being asked.   
So Grace asked the only person who would be brave enough to tell her the truth. 

"Charlie what's wrong with Eddie?" 

"He’s staying with the vet until he poops," Charlie explained casually. 

Grace blinked in surprise. "What?"

"No, that uh, that actually sums it up pretty well," Danny nodded.

He smirked proudly at Charlie's explanation. He promised a full explanation later, away from certain prying ears. Clara giggled behind her hand from the kitchen. Grace held back a yawn, but she couldn't fully hide it.

"Actually Steveo, you’re right. I'm pretty tired... I might go take a nap. Will you wake me up before the game?" She asked.

"Of course monkey. I'm glad you’re home," Danny smiled.

"I'm thankful too," she teased.

She headed towards her bedroom as Steve and Danny shared a look. Behind them, Vito sneered.   
"Sounds like someone forgot to tell her that-"

Danny swung around to hiss at him, "Cut the crap, what _exactly_ did you do to get her here, tell me every detail."

This time Eddie and Vito shared a look.

"Son, we were just trying to help," Eddie said.

"If you’re going to argue can you move it outside so Gracie can sleep?" Clara asked.

Given the ball of fire in Danny's stomach that wasn't sure whether to be delighted Grace was home or furious on Eric's behalf, he would usually have been uncertian of how to react, but he had been a cop long enough to recognise a bribe when he saw one.

"Just because you brought Grace home doesn’t mean I'm gonna forget what you did to Eric," Danny warned.

"What I did- I cant believe this, you’re all going crazy!"

_"Outside!"_

"This is my house Ma, I can decide where I do or no not argue!"

Clara folded her arms across her stomach and gave Danny a stern look. She didn’t manage to look stern very often, so when she did, they knew it was seriously. Even as a fully grown man that look sent a spark of warning through him.

He turned back to say, firmly, "Outside Vito."

As they went out to the garden, two things still struck Steve as being odd. Firstly the rowing boat that was still sitting where their hammock should have been, where Eric had dragged up into some rocks as a replacement, and secondly, the lack of the dog. Any time anyone went outside, Eddie would wander out after them. He liked to keep an eye on things.

The low level tension that kept his ears pricked when out of the house and danger was everywhere, that kept Steve and Danny keenly aware of where their guns were at all times. That instinct affected all cops. Even canines. 

Without Eddie there keeping an eye on them as a last line alert system, Steve felt his chest tighten more than usual. Although that could also have been because Danny looked furious, and the tension in the air made Steve reach for his empty holster. 

"What are we doing out here Daniel?" Vito demanded. 

"How can you seriously not know what you’ve done?! You turned my nephew into a drug dealer!" Danny shouted. 

Just like that, the shouting match began. Eddie wandered over to lean against the boat, staying way out of things. This could take a while, and it rarely ended well.

"You’re exaggerating! You always exaggerate then you blow things out of proportion-" Vito shouted.

"Out of proportion?! Out of propo- you gave him drugs, you told him to keep it secret from me, from the cops - and you asked him to hand it over to someone else-" Danny argued.

"To some lab rat who was gonna figure out what it was! Ya can't be a drug dealer if you’re not dealing drugs!"

"What are you nuts?!"

Vito's shoulder twitched like he was ready to take this to blows so Steve jumped in between them. With some urgency, and almost no sense of personal safety, he tried to calm things down slightly. 

"Everybody- _everybody_ just relax! Chill out for a second, alright? Vito, you know what you were doing was wrong because you didn't come to us for help-" Steve began.

"What, I gotta talk to you about every part of my business?!" Vito demanded.

"If you find drugs on your property then yeah, it's probably smart to talk to your law enforcing relatives!" Danny scoffed. 

"Nah, you would have made me hand it over, it would have been a big thing, and you woulda shut down the restaurant," Vito spat.

"Shut down the - do you care more about your money making than your own family?" Danny accused.

Vito's back strengthened and his eyes darkened furiously. "How dare you? How dare you look me in the eyes and say that - I flew all this way to help you fix that wreck of a restaurant you dumped your savings into, _I bottled Jersey water specially for your restaurant-"_

"And you didn’t save shit, you couldn't even get a liquor licence without Kamekona-" Danny argued.

"I have done more for this family, and for Eric in particular-"

"For _Eric_ in- alright, tell me then Vito, where is Eric? Where is Eric right now?! If you do so much for him, he's gotta be answering your calls, so where is he?!"

"He’s not answering my calls, you know he’s not answering my calls because you got into his head-"

"I got into his head?! Do you hear yourself?! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard and I live with this moron!" Danny gestured to Steve. 

"Hey!" Steve frowned defensively. 

"I love you but its true," Danny muttered.

Vito pointed at them accusingly. _"You_ turned him against me - you and this pineapple encrusted hell hole turned him away from us, from your roots-"

"That is not true, that is _untrue!_ That is an untrue statement-"

"Its you, its Hawaii, its this whole stupid place, you think you’re better than us, you’ve forgotten where you’re from, you’ve forgotten Jersey!"

"Hey, hey, _hey_ now!"

"That’s just not true _at_ all," Steve said.

He practically had to bite back a laugh at the mere suggestion. Danny had framed the postcard of Jersey that he used to keep in his car. It was now hanging, pride of place, on their bedroom wall. Steve didn't object to it - after all they were living in his home town - but sometimes when Danny got drunk and homesick his accent came back stronger than ever and that postcard found its way to the bedside table. He was less pleased about that.

Danny looked affronted. "You think I've forgotten Jersey?! You think I don’t miss Jersey?! You think I don’t wish we were in that stupid lake house we used to drive to for Thanksgiving every year so we could watch the leaves change colour?! You think I don't miss walking my beat and stopping in at the diner to score some decent hot chocolate or a free slice of tomato pie?! _O_ _f course_ I miss Jersey you moron, but I gotta be here, this is home now-"

"This is not home, this will never be home, _New Jersey_ is home!" Vito snarled. 

"Hawaii is my home now Vito!" Danny shouted. It shouldn't have made Steve proud to hear him yell it, but he'd be lying if he said it didn’t. _"O'ahu_ is home and if you don’t like it-" 

"It's bad enough Grace had to leave and take you with her, but then you had to steal Eric to?! That kid was like a son to me, and now he thinks I'm a crook and you're the only person who's opinion matters! You stole my kid from me!" Vito spat.

"Stella sent him here to get him away from you Vito because she thought Eric deserved better than being some putz out on the street stealing cars for a living!" Danny corrected.

"Is that all I am to you? Some putz turning this family into a bunch of criminals?"

"Matty didn't help!"

Now it was Eddie's turn to get involved. His firm tone cut sharply through their arguments. "Don’t bring your brother into this, he was a good kid! He still tried to provide for your mother and me so we'd be looked after in case something happened to him. He was a good kid."

The firmness in his tone warned that this was not a subject to be pushed on, but Danny was wound up. He couldn’t hold it back.

"I know Pop, but he was a criminal," he reminded him, drily, "So is Vito. Eric's got a chance to do better, to not end up like Matty, and you’re trying to drag him back down."

Vito staggered backwards like he had been physically hit. His voice dropped low too. "You think I want Eric to end up like Matty? I don’t want anyone in this family to end up like Matty, least of all my boy!"

"Then why did you give him those drugs?" Danny demanded. 

"Because I didn’t know how else to get him to talk to me!" Vito shouted helplessly. 

"That’s ridiculous, you gotta see how ridiculous that is," Danny said.

"I know, I know..." Vito heaved a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Truth is, me and Eric don’t really talk anymore. We used to have plots going behind everyone's backs that were just for us, y’know? Secrets. But after Christmas, the reindeer incident, he ain't been talking to me so much, and then he got a job way out here and he's busy too... Kamekona said his staff could lose out on pay tips if the customers got scared off by the cops, and I thought, hey, Eric's smart, he's solved crimes like this before, and I just thought... I thought it would give us a reason to be close still. It didn’t work. He yelled at me, drove off, and I ain't heard from him since..."

There was a pause as Vito hung his head. Eddie and Steve shared an uncertain look, but Danny's opinion on the matter was clear. His arms were still folded across his chest as he shrugged.

"Because that's stupid."

"Danny," Steve warned, softly.

"I'm sorry, no, that's stupid," Danny repeatedly stubbornly. "Eric's family. Okay, he’s an annoying little twerp but he’s _f_ _amily._ He's not gonna stop caring about you just because you’re not doing illegal stuff anymore, that’s stupid."

"He's being more like you, and we don't talk," Vito said.

"We don't?" Danny frowned.

Vito just shrugged. Danny frowned harder. He looked to Steve for clarification, as he often did in situations like this. Steve knew him better than anyone. He noticed things like who he spoke to or how often he did. Even Steve looked confused. 

Steve stepped forward and laid a hand on Danny's shoulder, "Vito, when we were struggling to get our business off the ground, you were the first person he wanted to call. I said no, I had so many contacts on this island who I thought would be better, but Danny said no, Vito's family, you do best by your family, so I agreed - a terrible, _terrible_ idea-"

"Steve, you’re losing your point babe," Danny muttered.

"No I'm not, my point is it was a terrible decision, look around you Danny, we're surrounded by water-"

"You really wanna do this right, right now?"

"I mean the shipping costs alone is crazy, not to mention the carbon footprint-"

"I know but New Jersey tap water is _specifically_ filtered-"

"Water is water!"

"New Jersey water got that rust in it that makes it good for dough," Vito countered.

Danny raised a hand to indicate towards Vito, like he agreed with him, even though Steve was still objecting. 

"Whatever, the point is it was a dumb decision but I agreed to it anyway, because I believed in Danny and his total conviction in you," Steve said, firmly.

"It wasn't that terrible an idea. The restaurant's up and running, and I've got a stake in it-" Vito began

"The spaghetti is amazing. The Bolognese sauce they have there is, mmm-" Eddie kissed his fingers, "immaculate."

"The point is, when we needed help, Danny reached out to you, and Eric's gonna do the same, you just have to let _him_ reach out to _you,"_ Steve finished, firmly. 

Steve knew he was right because he was currently two for two on it. Nahele had slowly been reaching out to his father before his untimely death, and Tani had come back to join the task force even though she had refused to. This idea of just waiting and being there the moment they need someone had never let him down.

Vito heaved a sigh. He hated the fact that, of all the people there, it had to be the cop that got to him. Not even the one he shared blood with. 

"Alright, I'll do my best. For the family."

Steve grinned and clapped a hand on Danny's shoulder triumphantly. Danny rolled his eyes. There was still a little fight left in him. Vito gestured to the space between himself and Danny. 

"Are we good?" He asked. 

"You still have to tell me what you did to get Grace home, and who I have to arrest for letting it happen," Danny said.

Vito looked towards Eddie. Eddie took this to mean it was his turn to come up with a lie. He decided not to.

"Some author needed something for Thanksgiving and we gave it to him and he let us send his private jet to Vancouver to bring her home. It was totally legal, all above board," he assured them.

Danny pursed his lips, quietly satisfied with the answer. He looked to Steve, silently asking if he was satisfied too. Steve met his look, and looked back to Eddie.

"What did he need?" He asked. 

Eddie blinked to try and hide the way his heart skipped. "What's that?"

"What did the guy want for Thanksgiving? You had to give him something, what was it?" Steve asked.

"It was uh, it was... a," Vito made a mumbling sound to avoid being understood.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, say again?"

"Well, you cancelled Thanksgiving, so you didn’t need it, so we gave it away," Eddie said.

"Gave what away?" Danny asked. 

"Are you saying-" Steve's shoulders tensed, "I'm sorry, is he saying what I think he’s saying?"

"I think he is," Danny nodded.

"What exactly did you give him?" Steve demanded. 

"The uh, the uh, the - the turkey," Vito admitted.

Steve's eyes widened. "You - you _gave_ away my turkey?! Without even asking?! What’s the matter with you?! You don’t just take away a mans thanksgiving turkey-"

"Its not a Thanksgiving turkey, Danny cancelled Thanksgiving," Eddie reminded him.

Steve threw his hands in the air and bitterly spat, "Right, thanks a lot Danny."

Danny did a split take. "Wait, you’re mad at me now? These idiots -"

"Watch it, I'm still your father," Eddie warned.

"Steal your precious turkey and you’re uh, you’re mad at me?!" Danny pressed a hand to his own chest. 

"Yes. They would never have taken it if you didn’t cancel Thanksgiving," Steve stated. 

"Yeah, and then Grace wouldn't be home, so are you really telling me you'd rather have turkey than Grace?" Danny demanded.

"No, I'd rather have turkey _and_ Grace. Or at least to have been consulted in the process," Steve said, pointedly as he glared as Vito.

"Sorry, we had to act quickly, it takes a long time to do a round trip to Canada," Vito shrugged.

"Great so now we have seven mouths to feed and no turkey," Steve huffed.

"What do we do now?" Eddie asked.

"We could call Kamekona. Shrimp casserole for thanksgiving dinner?" Steve offered sarcastically. 

"No. Not now, not ever. And it's not Thanksgiving," Danny said, firmly. 

"You got another uh, contingency plan up your sleeve Steve?" Vito asked.

Steve groaned as he tried to think of something, anything, that could replace the turkey at short notice.

"La Mariana is open. Rick needs the money and Robin Masters is making an appearance," was all he could come up with.

At least now he knew where he'd managed to find a turkey on such a small island at such short notice.

"Is Nicky the Kid playing again?" Danny asked. 

Vito bolted upright. "Nicky the kid?! He’s here?! On the island?!"

Steve had forgotten that Vito was a fan of his dads old friend. "Yeah, he’s an old family friend. He used to sing with my Aunt Deb."

 _"Once._ He sang with her _once,_ and you forced her on stage!" Danny reminded him.

"It was an excellent Thanksgiving though  
She had great pipes. And he officiated her wedding," Steve smiled at the memory. 

"What are we hanging around here for then?! Let's go!" Vito declared.

"A dozen Jersians descending on the bar might make his day," Steve muttered to Danny.

"No, we can't go out to dinner! We have to eat together at home, it's tradition!" Clara cried.

No one had noticed her approaching, but now she was close enough to hear their planning, and she was scandalised. 

"To be fair Clara, tradition doesn't exactly hold up at our Thanksgivings. The only thing we ever actually manage to do every year is the family football," Steve explained.

Clara's eyes lit up. "That's it!"

"That’s what? What is? What?" Danny asked. 

"Don’t worry, I have a plan, but I need your phone," Clara said.

She held out her hand, expectantly. Danny's hand automatically moved to his pocket to defend his phone.

"My phone? Why?" He asked, defensively. 

"Danny, give me your phone," Clara ordered. 

"I’m not giving you - no, I'm not giving you my phone unless you tell me why you-" Danny began. 

Clara rolled her eyes. "Steve give me your phone."

"Yes ma'am."

Clara dialled a number and walked away with a spring in her step as someone answered. Danny huffed at Steve and rested his hands on his hips. Steve's smile fell. He pursed his lips slightly, silently wondering what he had done to win the accusingly expression. Danny just rolled his eyes. It wasn’t Steve's fault that he had issues when it came to motherly figures. He didn't really have one. Not one like Clara anyway. 

Still, if he was going to be a part of this family, he was going to need a stronger resolve.

Steve leaned in close to Danny, and quietly but earnestly asked, "are you still making pancakes?"

Danny rolled his eyes so hard they hurt. 


	13. Chapter 13

The argument over who got to drive Grace to the football field started way before she actually woke up to go. They had to take separate cars to get everyone there, and they disagreed on who should get Grace. Both had important reasons to want to talk to her alone, but neither could use them in the argument. 

"If you want, you could go together with Grace, and I'll drive the rest of us in your other car," Eddie offered. 

_"No!"_

Eddie stepped back in surprise as both men shouted at him in unison. Then they both awkwardly tried to backtrack on themselves. 

"Uh, thanks for the offer, but I can't ride shotgun," Steve insisted.

"Yeah, he gets sick," Danny agreed.

"I get sick!" Steve nodded.

"So we can't drive together," Danny finished.

Eddie arched an eyebrow at them both. "But, doesn’t he always drive anyway?"

Some people say that if you're with someone long enough you begin to look like them. That was true enough for these two when they suddenly had to collaborate on a lie without discussing it. They shared the same look of surprise as their jaws dropped and they looked to one another so they could start the ball rolling.

"Well, that’s a fair - a fair point, but uh..." Danny stammered. 

"And Grace has her own car right? She could drive herself?" Eddie asked. 

"It's at Rachel's," Steve said.

"Yeah, Rachel's looking after the car. Technically it's- it's her car, I mean, her names on the lease, not mine," Danny let out a smile to mask his discomfort. 

"Like this place. It's my name on the lease," Steve gestured to the room around them.

Danny opened his mouth and then shut up, pursing his lips as he tilted his head. "What uh, what's that supposed to mean?"

Steve shrugged innocently. "Nothing. Just that, y’know, if I died, you wouldn't have a house."

Danny frowned. "I thought you said you changed your will."

"No, my life insurance. My will goes to my next of kin," Steve corrected. 

"Meaning?" Danny asked. 

"Mary," Steve stated.

"Right. And you’re bringing this up now because?" 

"No reason. It's just an important thing to remember."

"Not unless you’re planning on dying anytime soon."

"I'm not planning on dying, but y’know, we did almost die in that storm last week-"

"We did not almost die- y’know what, I can't. I can not have this argument right now. You take Charlie, I'll take Grace, then on the way home we'll swap, happy?"

"I'm happy. Are you happy?"

"Yes, I'm very happy."

"Okay. You don’t sound happy."

"Shut up."

Steve had every intention of manipulating things so he ended up with Grace in his car. He didn’t have as much time to argue as he usually did though because he and Clara had to cook the rest of the dinner together. She piled the food into the back of his truck while the others chose their own seats.   
Danny waited until the last possible minute to wake up Grace which meant that Charlie had already claimed the last seat in the front of Steve's truck. Steve set his hands on his hips when Grace climbed into Danny's car with him.

"You manipulated this," Steve accused.

"Only because you were going to," Danny shrugged. 

"I would never-" Steve began.

Danny folded his arms across his chest and let his tongue trace the inside of his top teeth as he watched Steve lie. A smile found its way over Steve's lips as he couldn’t help laughing. Danny knew him too well.

"Alright, maybe I had an idea-" he began. 

"Yeah, well now you have pumpkin pie. See you on the field, idiot," Danny winked.

Steve smirked at the insult. "I love you."

"Love you too," Danny called back.

He didn’t even turn to look at Steve as he climbed into the drivers seat for a change. Steve grinned at Charlie in his seat.

"We gonna win this race bud?"

"We always do Steveo!" 

Charlie grinned eagerly as Steve held out his fist so he could bump knuckles with him. 

"Don’t go too fast Steve, remember the food in the back," Clara warned.

"It's strapped down, don’t worry," Steve said.

The engine revved and he pulled out of the drive at the highest speed he could manage. As they skidded across the bumpy ground, Clara screamed, "STEVE! THE FOOD!" 

In the front seat of Danny’s car, Eddie chuckled to hear her yelling. Danny smiled as he rolled his eyes. Typical Steve. Always turning everything into a race. He drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel.

"Uh, Dan? Why aren’t we moving?" Eddie asked, finally.

"Oh well y'see, Steve has this childish need to win everything all the time, and when he doesn’t he turns into... how would you describe it Grace?" Danny asked. 

"An intolerable baby?" Grace offered. 

"Yes, exactly!" Danny grinned.

"So you're just gonna let him win?" Vito scoffed.

"This car has twice the horsepower that truck has. He could go full speed and I could still cruise straight past him," Danny said.

"Then why don’t you?" Eddie asked.

"Because for some ridiculous reason I had to go and fall in love with that caveman," Danny sighed, defeated, as he explained the problem, "and when he wins he’s happy, and I like it when he’s happy."

"Putz," Vito muttered. 

Grace smacked his arm. "I think its sweet!" 

Vito yanked his arm towards his chest as if her smack was mortally damaging. She rolled her eyes but smirked anyway. Danny grinned at her in the rear-view mirror as the knot in his stomach eased. She thought they were sweet. 

"Thank you Grace," he said.

"But I'm hungry, and he’s got the food, so I think we should go," she added 

"Alright. Seatbelts," Danny ordered.

Even with the lead they had given Steve, they still reached the football field before him. Kamekona was already there, setting up a table with the help of Jerry. Eric and Flippa were also there, but they were not helping in any way.

"There’s Eric," Vito muttered. 

"Just apologise to him. Be nice for once in your life," Danny said.

"I got this," Vito declared.

He climbed out of the car with enough confidence to concern Danny. 

"I'll keep an eye on him," Eddie promise. 

With the tension that had suddenly arose, Grace felt Like she had missed something. But she also hadn’t seen her cousin in months and was keen to catch up, so she didn’t question it. She opened the door beside her and Danny reached over the seat to stop her.

"Grace, wait a sec," he said.

She paused, her hand still on the door. "What’s up?"

"I just wanna talk to you for a second if that's alright," He said.

Grace frowned. She glanced over at Eric and the table of food Vito was setting up. Her stomach grumbled as she did. But then she glanced back to Danny. She hadn’t seen him in almost to months now, and he seemed to have aged in that time. Maybe she was just finally seeing the impact years of worry had had on him. Then again, he always looked worried. 

"...okay."

She got out of the car to climb into the front seat beside him and pulled the door shut behind her. Danny let out a puff of air that made her furrow her brow. He seemed to be genuinely on edge. 

"How you feeling monkey?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Tired. I really should have slept more on the plane."

"Well, jet leg will do that," he nodded.

The conversation lulled as she tilted her head, waiting for him to continue. 

"What’s wrong Danno? You've got that look on your face," she said.

He pouted innocently, "What look?"

"The look that says something's about to change and you’re worried about telling me."

"That’s a look I get?"

"Yep. You got it right before you told me you and mom were splitting up, right before you said I had to move to Hawaii because you couldn't look after me on your own-"

"I forgot about that!" He said, "you made it all the way through Newark to my apartment so you wouldn’t have to come to Hawaii."

She smiled, "Mom was furious,"

"She was terrified. We both were. But you found my apartment all on your own," he smirked. 

Grace chuckled and shrugged, "I’m smarter than I look."

"Yeah... yeah..." 

That day had been the first time he was actually, physically terrified that he could lose her. The phone call from Rachel saying Grace had left school alone and she didn't know where she was shocked him to the core. She was only just a little girl, lost in New Jersey City, alone. Panic struck him straight to the chest. It was pure luck that he was in his apartment at the time that she arrived there. 

Despite that the hardest day of Danny's life - apart from when he nearly lost Grace to a car crash - was the day he had sat down with Rachel to tell Grace that they were getting divorced. It was the first time that he had seen her try not to cry when she really, really wanted to. The way she pretended to be tough when her anchor was pulled away from her. She had forged new ones along the way - Rachel and Danny were still there when she needed them, and so were all of Five-O. She was an anchor for Charlie in herself. But for a little while it looked like she was going to have to choose between her parents, and whether to stay in the place she had always known, or leave for somewhere she had never seen.

At the tender age of seven that terrified her. 

Grace had been through so much in such a short life, and Danny couldn't help wondering how much could have been avoided if he had chosen a different path. If he had given up being a cop like he had considered when Rachel said she was leaving. Danny had dared to consider dropping everything, fighting for full custody of Grace, and making sure she couldn't go to Hawaii. He would have to give up being a cop and become a full time father to do it.

But if he had done that, he never would have met Steve, and they would never have started Five-O. He would never have settled his differences with Rachel and Charlie wouldn't have been born. So for all the troubles it had caused, and the danger it had placed Grace in, and the guilt that came with that, if he had his time over, Danny would make all the same choices again.

"Just because you have the right to remain silent doesn't mean you should exercise it," Grace said.

Danny chuckled as she pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Y’know you could be an excellent Detective," he said.

"I'm studying marine biology Danno," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but if you ever changed you’re mind, you’re still young-" he began. 

"Danno," she warned.

"I know, I know. I'll stop."

Grace chuckled. Her father had supported her plan to become a marine biologist since the sixth time she said it. At first he thought it was just a phase, possibly brought on by Steve. He had taken her scuba diving to help her on her school project about maintaining coral reefs. Then he was afraid of what would happen to her if she spent too much time in the sea. But when she promised she'd always listen to Steve's SEAL safety skills (which Danny had begrudgingly allowed Steve to teach them both when they started surfing) he had eased off. 

"So? What is it?" Grace asked.

Danny ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Uh, so, before I say anything, you know you’re the number one-"

"Most important thing in your life and number two doesn’t even come close _I know_! Get on with it before I fall asleep Danno!" She urged

"Alright, don’t be so mouthy! Uou're just like your aunts sometimes, yknow," He said.

"No because if you said that to aunt Bridget she'd kick you," Grace countered.

"Yes, yeah she probably would," Danny laughed.

Grace glanced over at Kamekona. He waved to her to try and beckon her over. Grace waved back and held up a finger to promise she'd be there in one minute. 

"You trying to run out on me already?" He joked.

"What's going on Danno?" Grace asked.

"You and Charlie are number one, you know that. But Steveo, Steveo's number two. I love that Neanderthal with all of my heart and I..." Danny licked his lips nervously, "I want to know that you would be okay if... If I asked him to uh, to marry me."

Grace's eyes snapped up onto him in surprise. Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. 

"If you... if _you_ asked Steveo? To marry _y_ _ou?!"_ She repeated. 

Danny nodded. "I know marriage might be a little scary after everything me and Rachel went through, and it's going to take a lot of work to make this one work-"

"You wanna ask Steveo to marry you?" 

Danny blinked as Grace repeated herself. It was taking a while for it to sink in, and it made the knot in his stomach tighter. 

"Y-yeah, is that okay?" He asked. 

"Does Charlie know?" She asked.

"I asked him, he says he’s okay with it-" Danny explained. 

"He is?" She smiled. 

"He says so."

"Charlie knows that you want to marry Steve... I wonder what else he knows."

Grace was doing her best not to laugh. After all of the planning in secret she and Steve had gone through (not to mention how nervous he was to ask her permission. He could barely look her in the eye, he dropped her shave ice while handing it over and had to buy a new one, and when she said it was okay, he hugged her so tight it almost prove her ribs) here was Danny asking for the same thing. It was hard to keep herself from giggling. 

"Grace, do you wanna sit down? You’re acting a little weird-" Danny began. 

Grace shook her head urgently, which Danny appreciated, because he suddenly realised she was, in fact, sitting down already, given they were in his car. That made him wonder if she was panicking, or if he was panicking and projecting it on her.

"Not weird. I’m not being weird. I just think it's funny. You told me not to mention getting married-" She began.

"No, I said not to mention _you_ getting married. You're growing up fast, I'm never gonna be ready to give you away to some goofball who doesn't deserve you," he corrected. 

"When are you gonna ask him? Have you got a ring?" Grace grinned.

"I do but, uh, it's... safely hidden away for now..." Danny said, slowly.

"How are you gonna do it?" She grinned, eagerly.

"I don’t know, I wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it first-" he began. 

"Would I be okay?! Of course! I love you and Steveo, of course you should get married, I literally can't wait for the proposal, I think you should do it now!"

Grace was practically bouncing in her seat at the idea. She pictured Danny getting out of this car, falling to one knee in front of Steve and just as he apologised for not having the ring on him, she would hand Steve the one in her pocket for him to propose back. Both would be dumb founded! The idea of it filled her with such delight that she squealed slightly. Danny felt relief flood through him like a tsunami. 

"I’m glad you're excited monkey, I was so worried-"

Grace gasped as the truck finally rolled into view. She shoved Danny’s arm to push him towards the door, urging, "Look, there he is, go on! Go ask him!"

Danny raised his hand to stop her, and lowered his voice as though Steve might overhear them. "No, no, it has to be perfect. Steve has to know that he's a part of the family, and we all want him to be part of it. It has to be perfect. I wanna do it soon, so you and Grandma might have to leave early to set up. You’re in charge of planning the perfect moment okay?"

"I think _now_ is perfect," Grace insisted. 

She didn't think she could wait. If she had to keep Steve's proposal from Danny and Danny's proposal from Steve and couldn't tell anyone why she was so close to exploding with laughter, she was certain it would slip out.

"For someone who watches too many romantic comedies none of them have sunk in. This isn't perfect, it has to be _romantic!"_ Danny insisted. 

"It has to be soon, or I'll burst," she warned, seriously. 

Danny laughed. He always had a soft spot for her dramatics. Sometimes it was nice to hear how the most important drama in her world was which of the girls in school took who’s lipstick without asking. Especially if the biggest drama in his day was figuring out who was manufacturing drugs that caused teenagers to overdose and ended in a shoot out. Again.

Danny's eyes tracked Steve as he climbed out of the truck. He held out his arms to the open door, where Charlie was now standing at the edge of it. Charlie threw himself out of the car, and into Steve's arms. Steve caught him, and threw him up to sit on his hip. The two of them high fived, and Steve set him on the floor, unaware Danny was watching them. Danny's heart ached for his partner. 

He didn’t want to wait to propose anymore either. He had all the permission he needed, who cares if he didn’t have a ring too? 

"Okay. I'll make up a story at half time and you and Ma can go home and set up something romantic. Maybe in the back yard? There’s a boat where the hammock used to be-" Danny began.

"There is?" Grace frowned.

"Uncle Steve wants to turn it into a luau," Danny explained. 

"That could be romantic," Grace nodded.

Danny frowned at her. "A roasting pig in the sand? Seriously? We watched the notebook two hundred times, how is it not all up here?"

He waved a hand over her head pointedly so she rolled her eyes at him.

"Don’t worry danno, we'll make it perfect. I bet you anything he'll say yes!" She insisted. 

Danny looked back to Steve as he mumbled, "I hope so."

Grace leaned past him to watch as Steve finally noticed the two of them still sitting in the car. He waved at them.

"I’m sure," she said, firmly.

"I'm glad one of us is," Danny muttered.

Steve tapped his watch pointedly, and beckoned the two of them over to help him empty the truck. Grace hopped out instantly to help. She couldn't stand being in the car anymore. She was fit to explode. 

"Now that's a pretty grin. What’s got you so happy?" Steve smiled.

Grace's smile grew wider at the question, but she couldn't find an answer to it that wouldn’t give the game away.

"I'm just happy to be home," she shrugged.

"Yeah?" Steve grinned. "I'm happy you’re home too. Now we can finish our plan!"

He leaned down to lay a kiss in her hair. She giggled again. Danny came wandering over, and smiled at Steve.

"What can I carry?" He asked. 

"Take the lasagna. That way if you get tackled and drop it Clara can't be mad," Steve said.

"Y’know you shouldn't use ma's guilt against her," Danny warned. 

His hand instinctively moved to hug Grace towards him. She moved with it, and tried to swallow back the urge to laugh that was aching in her stomach.

"I will when it stops keeping me out of trouble," Steve said.

He flashed a wink at Grace, which made her giggle again. Grace couldn't hold it in anymore. She snatched up the pie and made a dash for the table to avoid talking to them anymore. Danny smirked to himself. He wondered why he ever bothered worrying. 

"I've never seen her so happy, what'd you say to her?" Steve asked.

Danny clenched his jaw to try and wipe the smile off his face. "Nothing. I think she's just glad to be home. You were right, travelling has brought out the best in her."

"See? And you were worried she wouldn’t want to come home," Steve chuckled.

Danny groaned as Steve linked an arm around his neck. Steve pulled him closer to kiss his cheek. Danny's smile escaped as he did. Seeing the way he lit up like sunshine warmed Steve's heart and he couldn’t help smiling too. Steve fell in love with Danny every time he saw that sunshine smile.

He had to propose today. He just had to. Grace was back so he had the ring, he just had to find the right moment.

"How does saying grace work at a buffet?" Kamekona asked Eddie.

The two of them had set up the plates that Jerry supplied at the end of the table, ready for everyone to start digging in. 

"Like this," Eddie sighed the cross over himself and announced, "Grace."

"Yeah?" Grace appeared behind him, still grinning brightly. 

Eddie chuckled as he let her past, "Every year!"

"Never stops being funny," Jerry chuckled.

Grace grinned at him over the table. It felt good to be home. They weren't actually at home in their house, but they were still together, and that still felt like home. She loved it. Even if Charlie was already digging into the stuffing.

Clara's idea was a simple one. If they didn’t have a traditional thanksgiving roast, then they might as well have a traditional thanksgiving gathering. Everyone could have their dinner together at the game, as long as they brought some food along to share. Like a big potluck.

"I really like this idea. It's what the original thanksgiving was all about, y’know? People coming together to eat food and survive winter. Except, hopefully without the mass genocide that followed," Jerry said.

"Hopefully," Eddie agreed.

Eric ran a hand through his hair nervously as he jogged away from Vito. He headed towards Grace, eager to say hello. She was busy stuffing food into her mouth to stop herself from telling everyone what she knew. Jerry handed him a beer from the cooler on the bench.

"You two seemed pretty intense. How you holding up?" He asked. 

"I honestly have no idea, I zoned out for like half of that, but crazy as it seems, I'm pretty sure he apologised," Eric said.

"Apologised for what?" Grace asked through a mouthful of mash.

Eric laughed as he noticed the way that the potato smeared across her cheek. Grace frowned at him. Then Jerry snorted too. He held out a napkin for her to wipe away the food. As she did, Eric threw his arms out wide.

"Come here you! Long time no see, gimme a hug!"

He pulled her close against him, and she didn't react in any attempt to hug him back.

"Have you seen Grandma?" She asked. 

Her voice was muffled by his arm. He held her my her upper arms and removed her from him.

"It's nice to see you too," he said, pointedly.

Grace grinned as she curled a stray hair behind her ear, "Sorry, hi, great to see you, but it's really important I find grandma I have to talk to her about something important."

"Oh did Danny finally ask you?" Eric asked.

Grace's eyes widened. "You know?!"

"I know about Uncle _Danny,"_ Eric said, cautiously. 

Her smile fell slightly. "Is that all you know?"

"Is that all _you_ know?" He challenged.

She eyed him suspiciously. "It might not be..."

As the two of them eyed each other suspiciously, Jerry crunched on a Dorito. The two of them glanced at him, and then back at each other. Eric gestured with his head for her to follow him. Jerry watched the them go, and wondered why he was always being left out of things. Once a safe distance away, their suspicions continued like a whispered bickering.

"Do you know what I know?" Eric asked.

"How would I know?" Grace shrugged. 

"Charlie knows, shall we ask him?" Eric offered.

"Does Charlie know about... whom is asking who?" She asked, cautiously. 

Eric blinked as he got lost in her question. "What?"

Grace rolled her eyes and stamped her foot impatiently, "Dammit Eric, do you know both of them are planning to propose or not?!"

Eric grinned. "I do, but if I didn’t, you really would have blown it then."

 _"E_ _ric!"_

Grace shoved him as hard as he could, and he threw his head back, laughing as he staggered. Danny and Steve watched them do so, and shared a look. Steve pulled a face that said, "I don’t know but I’m not dealing with it" to which Danny agreed. 

"Who else knows?" Grace asked.

"As far as I can tell, just you me and Charlie," Eric explained. 

"Not even grandma?" Grace frowned. 

"I don’t think she knows about Steve," Eric shrugged.

"But she knows about Danno?" Grace asked.

Instinctively they both looked over to where there grandmother was giddily chatting away, clearly delighted by something. There was no apparently clue as to what excited her so. 

Grace snorted, "And she hasn't told everyone yet?"

"To be fair, Eddie and Vito both know about Steve. I don't think either of them know about uncle D," Eric said.

"This is crazy, I'm so excited!" Grace beamed.

Eric couldn’t warn her about Kamekona's approach in time, and his hand landing on her shoulder made her jump.

"Me too lil' sistah, beating Flippa is my favourite part of the day," he smirked. 

Grace blinked as it took her a moment to remember what he meant and why there were here.

"Yeah! The game! Can"t wait!" She forced a smile.

Kamekona raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously. He knew she was hiding something. He was an expert at recognising when he was being lied to. But whatever it was, it would come out soon. The Williams weren't the best at keeping secrets. They had too much passion, and it slipped out when it took over. 

"Now that you’re a mini adult, passing into the adult years, do you care to make this game a little more interesting?"

"Kamekona you have a bet going on every event on the island, why would I bother betting on the one you can actually control?!" Eric scoffed.

"Are you suggesting that I would do anything to rig the outcome and cheat on my loyal patrons?! That hurts," Kamekona shook his head, disappointedly.

Eric pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. Grace just grinned. Her grin only got wider when Steve and Danny took their traditional places in front of the crowd to pick their teams. Junior did the honours of the coin flip though. 

"Call it," he ordered.

"Heads!" Steve cried.

Junior slammed the coin onto the back of his hand, and Steve snickered smugly as Danny rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright, take the win, because it's the last you’re gonna get today," he said.

Grace smirked and muttered to Eric, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Tani clapped her hands eagerly and asked, "Alright boss man, who you picking?"

Steve hummed thoughtfully. Logic told him that the best way to ensure he won was to pick the strongest player first, which would be Tani, but she was headstrong and likely to argue with his plans. Junior was the next best idea, because he was fast and he kept his eyes on the prize, but he still idolized Steve, and Steve didn't want him to hold back his ideas to save an old man his blushes. However, if he took the one player that Danny always picked first, it would really rile him up and distract him for long enough for them to steal a lead. Plus it would be amusing.

"Gracie," he declared.

She looked up, as though she hadn’t been paying attention, "What?"

 _"What?!"_ Danny demanded. 

Steve winked at her as he tilted his head to beckon him over. Her mouth twitched as she failed to hide her disappointment. She wanted to stay and talk to Eric for a little longer. Neither of her parents noticed. Danny rubbed his chin and tucked an arm across his chest as he turned to Steve.

"What uh, what - what are you doing?" He asked quietly. 

"I'm picking my daughter for my team. Problem?" Steve smirked. 

"You know I always pick Grace first," Danny said.

"I guess I'm just mixing things up," Steve shrugged. He whistled to Grace since she hadn’t moved and called, "C'mon Gracie, let's go!"

"But I'm always on Danno's team," she said, tilting her head as she did.

Danny smirked smugly, "See?"

Steve tossed the ball from hand to hand as he said, "You don’t wanna be on my team? Cause y’know, my team need some important players in this and uh, some bigger operations."

"Bigger operations?" Danny repeated. 

"You catch my drift?" Steve asked her pointedly.

Grace dramatically stood to attention and saluted as she declared, "Yes sir commander Steveo sir!"

"Alright, just get over here ya goof," Steve smirked. 

Grace's shining grin returned as she skipped over to his side. Danny felt a rumble of irritation. 

"Alright well I'll take Tani then," Danny said.

Tani beamed, "Yes! We'll show them who the real boss is, right boss?"

She raised a hand to high five Danny, which he automatically reacted to.

"We won last time you were in charge-" he began.

"It was a draw!" Steve interrupted.

"We can do it again," Danny finished firmly. 

Tani laughed and nodded in agreement. Steve put his hands on his hips and gave her the same stoic look he usually got when things started to get competitive. She would never know that he had planned for this to happen, or that he fully expected her to have a blazing row with Danny about how to run a team. He loved Tani but she was more competitive than most of the SEALs he knew. When Danny alienated her, their whole team was going to fall apart. 

Strategic thinking. It's what makes ops work.

Steve gestured to Junior, "Junior."

"Charlie."

"Kamekona."

"Flippa."

"Eddie."

"Ma."

"Eric."

"Eric?!"

At Danny's outburst Steve turned his head look at him, innocently. Danny's face lit up like he had worked out Steve's plan, just from that look.

"Oh I see. You think I'm gonna be thrown off because you've got the three youngest plays except Charlie huh? What's wrong Grandpa, too old to run?" Danny sneered. 

"I'm younger than you," Steve reminded him.

"Jokes on you because Grace and Eric are plotting their own schemes over there," Danny said.

He gestured to where Grace and Eric were having a thumb war over something. Eric lost. He swore, brushed his thumb along his nose like he was sniffing it, and challenged her again. She pulled face at him and refused his snotty thumb so they had to swap hands.

Steve shrugged, "So?"

"So? So that means they’re gonna be chatty out on the field and you're not gonna be able to wrangle them-" Danny began. 

Steve scoffed, "I've kept track of navy SEAL operations, bomb squads, swat teams and Five-O. Two teenagers aren't going to distract me."

"Oh no?" Danny challenged.

"No," Steve stated firmly.

"No. Okay then, that's good. That’s good that they won't distract you. I pick Jerry."

"Yes!"

"Wait - _what?!"_

"I get picked last? Really, your own uncle?"

Jerry jogged over to join Danny's team, smiling at the fact he wasn’t picked last for a change. Vito folded his arms grumpily and glared at them. Danny flashed Steve a cocky grin.

"It's fine right, because you kept track of SEAL teams, swat raids, whatever, right? Two teenagers and Vito aren't going to distract you from winning, are they?" He said.

"No, but Vito and Eric having their own little drama going-" Steve began. 

"Hey now, I apologised to the kid for all that!" Vito argued.

The sound of a car horn bibbing caught their attention. The driver stepped out and Charlie lit up.

"Auntie Noelani!" He cried in delight.

He took off, racing across the field like a ball of lightning to throw his arms around her. Even from this distance they could hear her laughing.

Steve groaned, "Oh come _on!"_

Danny beamed. "This is the best day of my life."

"Hey!" Grace cried, offended.

"Sorry monkey, this is the second best day of my life," Danny corrected.

"Third," she corrected. 

"Huh?"

"Charlie!"

"Yeah..." 

Danny didn't like to say it - hell he didn't like to think it - but the day Charlie was born was very low on his list of good days. It fell just beneath the day Rachel told him she was pregnant with their second child and she was leaving Stan and Hawaii to go home with him to Newark. At the time _that_ had been the second best day of his life. But the utter and complete heartache of being told Charlie not being his really tainted those memories.

The day Charlie was actually born had been even worse than Rachel going back to Hawaii for Stan, because he had fallen in love with that boy the moment he took his first breath, and watching Rachel hand that bundle of joy to another man while whispering, "say hello to daddy" in front of him still felt like a mortal wound. Now more than ever, since now he knew that she had knowingly lied to al three of them at once. 

"You can not just claim her-" Steve began to argued.

"You got Vito, then it was my turn again, and I pick the last remaining player which is Noelani. I'm not claiming her, she's the only one left, and she has excellent timing," Danny smirked. 

"Wait, so I didn't get picked last? Good, I'm the fricking MVP!" Vito declared.

Steve glared at him. "Go and form a huddle mr irrelevant."

Vito walked off to join the rest of Steve's team gathered behind him, huffing bitterly as he went.

"Break a leg babe," Danny winked.

"I will. Vito's," Steve warned.

Danny laughed as he turned away. The two teams separated from each other and set about forming their own plans on how to win. 

Everything went according to their varying plans. Vito and Eric wouldn't go near each other so if one saw the other head for the ball they stopped running. Grace hovered near Eric, like he had a gravitational pull, and kept trying to plot their escape without being noticed. Clara laughed her way through even though she didn’t really know what she was doing. Junior offered up plans but always finished them with, "if you think that’s a good course of action commander". Noelani avoided being involved. Jerry, Flippa and Kamekona made excellent blockers. Kamekona more than the others, although he also kept reminding everyone he was close to that they needed to eat. It wasn't until Vito scored the equalizer that Danny and Tani had a major argument. 

From Steve's end of the field it was all shouting and screaming and waving arms about before she stormed off towards the food. From Danny's end of the field though, it was largely yelling old clichés at each other in order to make it seem as loud as possible as they tried to hold back their laughter. The fact that Steve couldn't see that twinkle in their eyes kept their fake argument sounding real.

Danny called for a time out, and everyone had worked up an appetite. They gravitated towards the table brimming with food. Clara moved towards Danny.

"That was a big blow out, is everything okay?" She asked.

"Are you kidding? That’s your cover," Danny said.

"Our cover?" She repeated.

Danny nodded. He beckoned over Eric and Grace. "Gracie here are my car keys, you drive ma and Eric home and start setting up the lalani. If Steve asks, I'll say, uh-"

"That Eric had diarrhoea," Grace declared.

Eric did a double take in offence, "What?! No-"

"No that’s perfect. Ma's wouldn't let you go home unaccompanied and Grace would have to drive. You're a genius, I love you," Danny said.

He tugged her closer to kiss her hairline as she grinned wider.

"I know," she said.

Clara linked her arm through Grace's beaming at her with the same excitement she had when she snuck her out of school to get make overs.

"Let's get moving then, Grace Solo," she winked.

Grace took her arm, laughing. Not one to be left out, Eric took her other arm. He felt ridiculous- especially when they passed Noelani who chuckled at them- but he didn’t let go. His whole family was ridiculous, why shouldn't he be too?

"Whoa, whoa, where are they going? That’s like half my team, what'd you do?!" Steve cried.

"Would you relax?!" Danny said, "Eric's feeling sick so Grace's driving him back to our place."

"How sick?" Steve demanded.

"I wouldn't wanna be the one who cleans it," Danny said. 

"He's gonna vomit?" Steve asked.

"No," Danny said pointedly. 

It took Steve a second to understand, but when he did, he softened. _"Oh._ That sucks. I think I've still got some meds from my radiation sickness that should help with that, I'll text Clara."

Steve’s phone was already in his hands by the time that Danny had finished groaning at the idea. 

"Don’t encourage him to take prescription drugs without a doctors permission," he said.

"It's fine, they’re only my pills, he’s got my permission," Steve said.

"That’s dealing. That’s a crime Steven!" Danny argued.

"Now who can't relax? Come on, half a team down and I can still beat you," Steve declared. 

"I'll bare that in mind when I'm posting your bail for drug dealing charges!" Danny said sarcastically. 

"I'll let you put me in handcuffs anytime Detective," Steve winked.

Danny cocked an eyebrow. "I'll bare that in mind."

Despite their midgame meal weighing in their stomachs, Tani, Junior, Danny and Steve stubbornly continued playing to the best of their abilities. Everyone else attempted to keep playing, but one by one they gave in. The aching stitches weren’t worth it. While Junior tackled Tani to the floor, Steve scored the final touchdown, and stole victory right out of Danny's hands. She was not pleased. 

"That was way rougher than necessary!" Tani snarled.

Junior climbed to his feet and held out an arm for her to pull herself up beside him.

"Sorry babe, Danny told me to take you down by any means necessary-" Junior began.

 _"W_ _hat?!"_ Tani demanded.

Steve was still whooping and running circles around the field while the others watched and laughed. Danny tried to keep looking disappointed, even though this was exactly what he wanted.

"Hey man, what the hell?! You told Junior to tackle me?! We're on the same team man!" Tani yelled at him.

Danny hushed her urgently, "hey, hey, no, listen - Steve had to win today."

"I already argued with you so you could get rid of their team members-"

"I want him to be in a good mood and this," he gestured to Steve as he and Kamekona lifted Eddie right off the floor to join their celebration, "this is a good mood."

Tani hummed dubiously, clearly unimpressed.

"Well don’t be mad, its important. C’mon, let me get you another beer," Danny said.

"If you wanted him to win, why did you pick me?!" Tani asked.

"I had to look like I wanted to win," Danny shrugged. 

"Come on everyone, back to our place to celebrate my victory!" Steve yelled. 

A cheer went up as everyone decided who was taking what leftovers with them, and who was driving who. With Grace driving Danny's car, they needed to reorganize everyone, but with Noelani driving too, they got it done. As the family piled the food into the back of Steve's truck, Danny noticed the way he was observing their manoeuvres. Steve’s hands were on his hips as he watched them, but his mind was miles away. 

"What’s up man? You just won, why'd you look like you've lose your favourite knife?" Danny teased.

Steve glanced at him. "Nothing..."

"C'mon, tell me," Danny urged.

Steve bowed his head. "I was supposed to take Grace home." 

"Right, but there was a medical emergency, she got called away, it was a necessity," Danny lied 

"Yeah... I just wanted to catch up," Steve shrugged.

"Catch up at home you goof, she's not going anywhere," Danny nudged him playfully.

Steve just nodded. Grace wasn't going anywhere, but she was also supposed to be here so he could finally get his hands on that engagement ring without Danny seeing them.

"Race you home?" He smiled.

"I don't have a car, I'm riding with Noelani," Danny said.

"Then I'll see you when you get home," Steve smiled.

He leaned in to kiss Danny goodbye. The way Danny's eyes flicked shut at the sensation made his stomach warm. It was the little things that melted his insides. Like the way Danny smiled when they separated.

"See you at home."

...

"Are you still mad at Eric?" Jerry asked as Danny climbed into the car.

"Excuse me?" Danny challenged.

"Because you shouldn't be," Jerry said.

"I should be? Why shouldn't I be? He brought drugs into my home and didn't even tell me-" Danny began.

"Eric's done a lot wrong, but he looks up to you," Jerry said.

"What gives you that idea?" Danny frowned.

"It's true, he does," Noelani nodded in the rear-view mirror.

Danny frowned at the both of them. When Noelani offered to drive him home he had assumed it was her being kind, as she often was, he never expected an ambush like this. 

"Back when you were shot in quarantine Eric was terrified. He held himself together for your sister and Rachel and the kids, but he was easily the most terrified person in that room. Adam got him to open up, and he told us about the way you used to keep calling home just to check in," Jerry explained. 

"So? Don’t you check in with your family when you move thousands of miles away?" Danny asked drily. 

"He said he needed you more than the rest of them did. That you set him straight. The one who brought him up here and talked some sense into him, got him my job..." Jerry trailed off quietly.

His mind went back to the night in the hospital when they were waiting to find out if Danny was going to survive the chaos of the night. It was a lingering fear in that room that made Eric confess it all. Danny frowned harder.

"Jerry? What aren’t you saying?" He asked.

"You saved Eric," Noelani translated.

She hadn't been there on the night that Danny almost died - well not that one anyway. But she knew Eric. The two of them had had a lot of time to talk between examinations while waiting for various results. Not to mention the night they almost got burned alive together too. She had grown fond of him. Fond enough to listen to him. Eric never paid much mind to the things he said, because no one every really listened back home, given how loud and busy home was. Sometimes he said things that revealed more than he wanted to. Just like Danny did. Noelani had pieced together more of his life from those outbursts than from two hour conversations. She knew Eric loved Danny more than he'd ever admit. He _hated_ disappointing him. 

Danny shook his head. "I didn’t save him from anything."

"He thinks you did. He said as much too. He said his big regret was that if you died on that table he'd never get a chance to thank you for it," Jerry said.

"Some thanks I got. Risking my child’s health," Danny sighed.

"He was doing all he could to look out for his family. And he couldn’t go through with it, he had a panic attack on the doorstep," Noelani told him. 

Danny sat up a little straighter as his eyes widened slightly. "Wait, Eric had a panic attack?"

"He didn't tell you?" Noelani sounded surprised. 

"I suppose he would have had to talk about the drugs," Jerry wrinkled his nose.

"Is he okay? How long had this been going on for?" Danny asked.

"I dunno, I thought this was his first one, but its possible it might not be," Noelani shrugged.

"I need to talk to that kid. Something's going on with him and Stella'll kill me if I don't find out what," Danny said. 

Jerry chuckled to himself. Danny could write off his fears as duty to his sister all he wanted, they knew better. Family was everything to Danny, and Eric was ohana. He put up a good pretence, but they knew he cared. Eric cared too. That was all that mattered.


	14. Chapter 14

"Table's all set up for grazing, we got ice cold beers in the fridge, we also got soda and fruit juice for those of you who are driving, come on in, make yourself at home."

Everyone knew where everything was in Steve's house, they didn’t need the tour. His home was open to anyone at any time. Their security code was an open secret. Still, he was a gracious host and he adored having everyone crammed together in his home.

Danny smiled to watch him happily handing out beers as he wound his way through the kitchen. It was a shame that they hadn't gotten the restaurant off the ground because Steve would have been a fantastic host. He would have been delighted to welcome everyone too.

"Yo McGarrett, where's the dog?" Tani asked.

As all eyes turned to Steve, they realised that they had failed to tell anyone that Eddie was sick. Only Noelani and Jerry knew. Steve looked to Danny for help.

"Uhh..." 

Seeing his father lost for words, Charlie rose to his feet and held up a hand to reassure Steve. 

"I got this Steveo."

Steve arched an eyebrow as Danny smirked. He ruffled Charlie's hair as he passed by.

"You got this buddy," he agreed.

Steve disappeared into the kitchen as Danny moved towards the windows to search for Eric. Charlie stood in front of the TV, so all eyes were on him as he cleared his throat.

Eric was standing on a chair, weaving fairy lights across the railings as Grace sat cross legged on the floor, untangling them and Clara held the chair steady.

"Hey Eric can I talk to you for a seco - whoa..."

They had transformed this section of the lalani. The corner spot, overlooking the sea was exactly where a proposal should take place. Eric and Grace had found the old wicker couch in the spare room and dragged it out here too. They filled it with cushions, looking out to the horizon. There was also a path of candles in glass holders lined up along the edge of the house, and down the steps to the back yard. Each one was supporting an electronic flame, since the house was mostly timber frame. It was a genuine fire hazard. With the soft gold glow the lights would provide framing the scene, all they needed to provide was the champagne waiting in the fridge. Danny's heart best harder just to see it set up.

"This looks amazing!" He breathed.

"You lot are back already?" Clara gasped.

"I'll keep him out of your hair if I can..." Danny muttered.

His gaze trailed along the flickering candle flames, down the steps and towards the sea. The sun would be setting soon. That was the ideal time to bring Steve out here, and prepare to propose. 

It was really happening. 

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

Again he took in the scene. The cosy couch would support both of them, but it had a deep seat that tended to slide people into one another. With the candles, the sunset, the champagne and this couch, it was romantic. Too romantic. Steve was going to know something was up.

"Everything okay son?" Clara asked. 

"I just... is it too romantic?" Danny asked nervously.

"Too romantic?" Grace scoffed.

"The last date we went on was getting a takeaway and having a picnic in front of the TV. We're not exactly the most romantic of couples," Danny shrugged. 

"You could be when it matters," Clara said, gently.

Danny could still remember the day that Steve turned up to Kamekona's truck in a full tuxedo to sweep Catherine off her feet and carry her off into the sunset. His chest fluttered with jealousy at the memory. Steve could be endlessly romantic if he was forced into it. This, however, required Danny to be the romantic one. 

"Baby?"

Danny looked up at his mom as her voice echoed through him. He hadn’t noticed the way she had gotten so close until her voice caught him. She smiled gently as she reached out to curl a finger around his.

"You're gonna do great. He's gonna say yes. Romance always works. Even if it feels cheesy, he'll appreciate the effort. Everyone loves cheese anyway, right Eric?" She said. 

Eric had stepped from the chair onto the railings that ran along the lalani. Grace was still tracking him so if he fell she could attempt to catch him. He held onto the gutter to support himself as he wrapped the lights between the roof beams.

"I once ate a whole block of it on a Bolognese once," he nodded.

"Not- not what she meant Eric. Good try though," Grace said.

"I like cheese though," Eric admitted.

"Take a deep breath. Steve is in love with you, he can hardly take his eyes off of you unless he’s playing with your kids. He loves you. You love him. He'll say yes," she assured him. 

"You’re right. You're right, you’re right!" Danny repeated to reassure himself. "Eric, can I talk to you?"

Eric glanced at him, and then to Grace, uncertainly. His mind had been focused on preparing this setting, and on laughing with his cousin and his grandmother as they chattered excitedly about wedding plans to follow. He had almost forgotten that Danny was mad at him. 

Until now anyway.

"Uhhh, yeah. Yeah okay."

Grace took the string of lights from him as he climbed down to safety. Danny walked down the steps and into the garden, so Eric would follow. Once they were far enough away from keen ears, Danny cleared his throat like Charlie in front of a crowd. Eric didn't wait for him to speak though. 

"I didn't mean to do it. I mean, I did mean to do it, it was my choice to take the bag, but I didn’t mean for the drugs - well they weren't drugs, but I didn't mean for them to get into the house at all, and -" Eric stammered.

"Eric, Eric, would you shut up already?!" Danny said.   
Eric blinked, "Huh?"

"I know it was an accident. Ma told me you hid them in Grace's room and she moved them to where Eddie would find them. It was wrong for you to bring them into the house and not tell me-" Danny explained. 

"I know, but I-"

"I'm not done. That was wrong. But putting them in a room where no one was going to find them was smart. Almost responsible. _Almost._ It was still a very stupid thing to do, don’t get me wrong, but that's not what I'm upset about."

"What are you upset about?"

"I told you not to go anywhere."

Eric reeled back in surprise. "You really expected me to stay in the house with Vito after he used me as a putz again?"

"I expected you to at least come home when it got late! You've got no apartment right now, you've got no money, you just got in your car and vanished! No one knew where you were, you didn't pick up the phone-" Danny ranted.

Eric didn’t want to smile, but he couldn't help the way it curled at the corner of his mouth, "Were you worried about me uncle D?"

"Was I wo- _w_ _as I worried_?! What’s the matter with you, of course I was worried! Do you know how much crime goes on on this island, and you vanished after I found out you had ties to some sort of drug cartel! _Was I worried?!_ You idiot," Danny shouted.

Eric bowed his head, but the smile warmed his stomach. "Sorry uncle D... but, it wasn't drugs. And I'm not tied to any drug cartel. Unless shrimp are a drug because those bastards are addictive!"

"Shut up, I'm not done," Danny huffed. 

"Sorry," Eric muttered.

"I can't protect you if you don't talk to me, okay? I know you want to be a big badass which means risking your life doing stupid shit like that, but you shouldn't. When it goes wrong, and it _always_ goes wrong, I need to be able to help. Otherwise you'll end up -" 

"Please don't ship me back to Jersey, I love ma, I do, but I don't belong there anymore uncle D, I just don't," Eric begged desperately. 

Danny frowned at him, "You think I want Stella to find out I wasn't paying enough attention to her son and he ended up playing with potential drugs? Do you think I'm suicidal?"

Eric opened his mouth to respond but he suddenly realised he had no idea what to say. 

"Listen, I know you know better than what you did-" Danny began.

"I'm sorry Uncle D," Eric insisted.

"I know you are. But why didn't you stand up to Vito? You're a smart kid, I know there's a brain in there somewhere-" 

"I did it for Kamekona."

Danny paused as he recalibrated to the new information. "Kamekona, what's - what's Kamekona gotta do with anything?"

"He's the only one supporting my business. I need his financial backing. If he got arrested, I'd lose my business, and I don't have anything else," Eric said.

"Well then you need more investors so not all your eggs are in one flight risk," Danny said, folding his arms.

"I don't know how to do that," Eric said.

"It would help if you had friends or family members with enough money to invest in you, which you would pay back later when you start getting rich," Danny said.

"Have you met my friends? We use cents to buy rounds," Eric scoffed.

"Then look at your family doofus. You just so happen to have an uncle who's about to split his finances with his partner which will cover the kids university fees, and a lot of other stuff, and still have a little left over for a retirement plan. Ours didn’t exactly work out, but there's enough to invest in someone younger and hungrier," Danny said pointedly.

Eric frowned at him, the confusion in his eyes was genuine. "Who?"

"I can't believe you don’t think I worry about you when you’re this stupid," Danny huffed.

"You mean m - you would invest in me?!" Eric sounded shocked.

"It's an option. You can look around, talk to people, build up a real plan - maybe not with Kamekona though. You don’t want to end up with his face on your equipment right?" Danny shrugged. 

"No. I'd settle for his logo rather than him and Flippa sitting in on set though," Eric said.

"That’s... that's something you need to sort out. If you're smart you'll use this favour against him to keep him out," Danny advised. 

"Yeah... yeah maybe I will. Thanks for being so cool about this uncle D."

Eric tried to turn away and head back for the safety of the lalani, but Danny latched onto his arm to stop him. 

"Hang on, we're not done."

"We're not?"

"No. Because you're still not talking to me."

Eric blinked. He wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to say. Danny clearly knew about something that he wanted more information on but Eric had no idea what. 

"What do you want me to say?" He asked innocently. 

"Where did you go? Were you safe?" Danny asked.

"Didn't you ping my phone to find out?" Eric asked.

Danny's mouth flapped as he considered what to tell him. He didn't want to be the overly protective uncle, constantly checking in on his nephews whereabouts - Rachel had nagged at him about checking in on Grace enough, and she was actually his to worry about - but who else was going to keep him safe? 

"I was going to, but I figured you'd want some privacy. I also figured you'd come home," Danny confessed.

Eric nodded slowly. "I stayed with Jerry. Actually, I agreed to house sit for him while he goes on a book tour too. It'll give me a place to stay while they fix up my apartment."

"So you're moving out again?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. You can have your big old family house to yourself again," Eric joked.

Danny forced a smile. He wasn't sure if he was disappointed or not. He hadn't been eager to let Eric stay in the first place, but he enjoyed having the chaos of his family under his roof. Even if it did raise his blood pressure.

"Uh... you know that you're welcome here right?" He asked slowly.

"Sometimes, yeah, when I'm desperate," Eric shrugged.

"Yeah, but, I mean, you know you're part of the ohana? Everyone knows our security code, I keep waking up to find people in my kitchen. Junior uh, Junior actually turned up one day and just took Eddie and I was freaking out until I found the note on the fridge - what I mean is... you can stay. If you wanna. For as long as you need," Danny explained. 

"Thanks uncle D, but, uh, if you get engaged tonight, I don't really wanna be around to hear it, y’know?" Eric smirked. 

Danny wrinkled his nose and tried not to blush, "You could have just said no."

Eric chuckled. He shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat, "um, thank you though... Y’know, Charlie's really lucky. He's gonna have two dads to care about him, and I know from experience how great one of them is as a father figure."

Danny felt his chest thump. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded quietly. A smirk found its way onto his face, "Steve's been like a dad to me ever since I got to this island-"

Danny laughed as he rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright, get inside before I kick you in there!" 

Eric grinned, "Love you uncle D!"

"Whatever," Danny muttered.

He followed Eric down the path and up the steps to where the rest of his family were gathered. Eric dashed into the house, as Danny slowed to take in the decorations once more.

"You’re a good uncle Danny," Clara smiled.

"Family's family Ma, I do what I can for all of you," Danny shrugged.

"I know. You're our own personal defence. I'm so glad Steve's around to protect you," Clara smiled.

"Protect me? Ma, he’s the one always putting me in danger. Meeting the guy has aged me, look at me, I used to be beautiful!" Danny sniggered.

"You’re still my gorgeous boy-"

Clara cupped her hands around his mouth as she cooed at him. Danny struggled against her in the same way Grace always did to him.

"Ah _ma!"_

Grace giggled as she watched from the floor. She had brought out a ice box to settle the bottle of champagne on the table for them and now she was double checking that all of the flames were on. They were practically ready. The door creaked as Eric leaned out again.

"Are you nearly done? Steve's asking where you are," he warned.

"I'll stall him-" Danny said.

"Wait, we just need to-"

Grace flicked a button on the black box in her hand and around them the lights flickered on like fireflies hovering in the air. The simplicity of the beauty took his breath away.

"Wow..."

Grace beamed. "You like it?"

"It's perfect. You did such a good job guys," Danny smiled. He gathered them up into his arms, and hugged them affectionately, "I'm so proud of you, mahalo..."

Eric and Grace shared a look. They very rarely heard Danny attempt Hawaiian, whenever they did, it was because he felt a little more at home here. Grace handed him the little black box, and ran a finger across the buttons.

"You just have to press this button when you sit down, okay Danno?" She explained. 

"Which button? You know I've got goofy thumbs, I don’t wanna press the wrong one," he said.

She silently showed him which button to press and how it affected the lights. He smiled as she did. Then he caught the sound of Steve cheering from inside. There was a kind of warm giddiness to it that was usually brought on by alcohol. 

"Perfect, thank you. We'd better get inside, sounds like Steveo's started drinking, we need to make sure Tani doesn't find the karaoke machine," Danny said.

Clara giggled excitedly. She grabbed onto Eric and pushed him through the door so she could pass through. Grinning, Grace moved to follow, but Danny stopped her. He waited until they were alone just to check one last time.

"Gracie? You really okay with this?" He asked quietly.

Grace's grin couldn't have been stronger. She nodded. "I want you to be happy Danno."

Danny's chest melted for her. He wrapped his arms around her, and laid a kiss on her hairline. "I love you monkey."

She clung onto him as she murmured, "I love you too."

There was a tornado of emotions in Danny's chest. Everyone was so certain that Steve would say yes but he couldn’t shake the lingering doubt. Still, his family supported him so endlessly that he had to go through with it. Even if it made him feel queasy.  
Danny leaned against Grace as the two of them walked back into the living room where everyone was waiting. The moment they saw him, a cry went up among the crowd. 

"There he is!"

"Man of the hour!"

"Danno!"

"Just who we were looking for!"

"Speak for yourself, I was looking for the dog!"

Danny blinked in surprise at the sudden burst of attention towards him. There was a sense of caution as he slowed to examine it.

"What's going on in here?"

"Alright, alright, alright! Settle down!" Steve called to hush the crowd. He gestured to Danny. "With your permission Danno, I'd like to reinstate Thanksgiving." 

A cry went up from the others, calling over each other to declare their agreement. Clara just whooped to add to the noise. From the laughter scattered through the shouting it was fairly obvious to everyone that the beers had taken affect. Grace assumed by the way that Steve was swaying slightly, that he had had one or two more than the others, to settle his nerves. 

"Alright, but only because I've got things to be thankful for, not because you all bullied me into it!" Danny lied.

Another cheer erupted from their friends which made them laugh. They had already gathered themselves into a circle, clustering together to look up at Steve. Grace joined Charlie on the floor as Eric stood up to let Danny sit down. Eric leaned on the back of Vito's chair. When Vito complained, Eric pointed out he was smoking a cigar despite having had a heart attack and being medically advised not to, so his opinions weren’t currently relevant. 

"Go on Steveo!" Grace beamed. 

"No, no, I wanna go last!" Steve declared. He glanced nervously as Danny as he tried to keep his cool, "Junior, why don’t you kick us off?"

Junior's head flicked up in surprise. "Me? Isn't it obvious? I'm thankful for you sir. You took me in, gave me a job, and it lead me to meet the most wonderful, beautiful, funny-"

 _"Stop!"_ Tani waved a hand, sheepishly. As she raised his beer to her mouth she winked, "No, keep going, keep going."

 _"Humble,_ woman of my dreams," Junior continued, smiling. "And I’m thankful that she agreed to marry me. Even if we cant agree on anything for the wedding."

She rolled her eyes as she gulped down the beer, "Not this again, y’know what, I'm thankful no one's going to wear khaki to my wedding!"

"Aw come on, McGarrett, tell her how great navy boys look in khaki!" Junior urged.

"I don't disagree-" Steve began.

"Nah, I have to agree with Tani on this-" Danny began.

"Come on!" Steve complained. 

"Yes Danny!" Tani beamed.

The bickering was brief today, but it was one that would come and go as time wore on. Not unlike the colour of the booths for their restaurant. 

"My turn!"

"Lou?!"

Danny looked around for the man. He was supposed to have been on vacation, and was supposed to be undisturbed until he came home. Yet they could hear him. Junior tilted the tablet screen around for the rest of them to see. 

"I'm thankful for my wife and my kids and my house, and all the usual great stuff-"

"Heartfelt," Danny smirked.

"But I'm really thankful of the round of golf I played last month! Came in two under par, I'm really getting into the swing of things, if you pardon the pun," Lou sneered.

There was an exposure of booing and jeering as Lou laughed at their reactions.

"Aw shut up, you’re all just jealous you'll never be able to beat my score," he said.

"There’s one sun stroked caddy who hopes we never try," Steve grinned.

"Ah he’s fine! I gave him a good tip and a free meal, my debt is paid," Lou shrugged. 

Once again they burst into chattering, arguing over one another in a way that made Steve's chest warm. They were noisy and bickering in the most loving of ways. It was the kind of comradery he adored.

"I gotta go, you lot enjoy the turkey now," Lou declared. 

Some of them, like Jerry, Noelani and Clara, wanted to tell him the truth about the turkey, but they didn’t have time because Danny and Tani were already lying to annoy him.

"Yeah, this is McGarrett's best one yet," Tani lied.

"Yeah!" Eddie laughed in agreement. 

Once again they fell into enough chatter to make Lou roll his eyes. It was like trying to listen to one bird in an aviary. The moment one started speaking the others interrupted. 

"Save me some leftovers, I'll be the judge of that," Lou challenge. 

"No chance, when you get back there’s not gonna be any left!" Vito smirked. 

"Yeah yeah, you greedy vultures!" Lou scoffed, "see you when I get home."

"Bye Lou!" They cried.

Once his screen went blank and he hung up, Junior set the tablet back on the table beside him.

"You lot are jerks. I slave over that over every year-" Steve began.

The crowd turned against him, jeering and booing at him instead of Lou now.

"Ungrateful!" Steve cried.

"Who's next?" Clara yelled.

"I'm thankful to Uncle D, for-" Eric began.

"Seriously Eric? You being serious right now?" Danny huffed. 

"Uncle _Danny,_ for letting me stay here while my apartment is drying out, but I'm also thankful for Jerry, for agreeing to let me stay with him while its being renovated," Eric said.

Steve blinked at him, disappointed. "You serious? You’re leaving?"

"I figured it's better if I don’t get under your feet when I get swept up in questionable activities," Eric explained. 

Steve reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder, "I appreciate that Eric, but to be clear, I'm not trying to force you out. You're welcome to stay if you need to."

"No, no, I uh... I got a feeling it would be a whole lot less awkward if I stay with Jerry," Eric said.

"I'll be thankful for the company. I mean, like always I'm thankful for Five-O, because you were the first to believe in me, and that is something I'll always be thankful for, but this book tour is going to be exhausting. Talking to strangers every day, defending what I've written- it'll be nice to Have a friendly face to come home to," Jerry said.

"That sounds... a little gay dude, but I appreciate the sentiment," Eric smiled.

He reach over to pat Jerry's shoulder as he frowned at the reaction. 

"Well I'm thankful that Kamekona cooked so something was edible," Vito said.

"Yeah, I don’t know who brought that pizza with the green crap on it, but we're gonna have words!" Danny declared. 

"Hey, we could have gone to La Mariana!" Steve argued, again. 

"Apparently that author, Robin Masters is there, and he brought a huge turkey with him," Junior said.

"I heard that too, how'd you reckon he got that past the TLA?" Noelani asked.

"I dunno, the guys a millionaire, he probably paid someone to look the other way. You don’t make that much money without being somewhat sketchy," Tani said.

"If we had gone we could met Nicky The Kid," Steve said.

"Yeah because that's what this party needs, more New Jerseyites," Kamekona scoffed.

"It's _New Jerseyans_ , and you have never have too many of us," Eddie declared. 

"Please, I've been to New Jersey, there’s already too many of you there!" Steve sneered.

There was uproar from the Williams family countered by Five-O backing up Steve's arguments, while Charlie laughed to see them argue, and Noelani sipped her drink, quietly trying not to get involved.

"Someone else go now, please, before blood starts spilling!" Clara called.

"I'm thankful that Eddie's okay, and that Eric helped me to make this!" Charlie cried.

He leapt to his feet and raced into his bedroom to find the bunting he had spent the last few days making. He shoved one end into Eric's hand and the others into Vito's to display it fully outstretched. The bickering fell into impressed murmurings. 

Each handprint was a different size, and decorated in a different way. He had coloured in each one to the best of his abilities. His own handprint had a smiling face and feathers drawn in felt tip, while Grace's hand had real feathers in colours that matched his. Clara's was glittery. Eric's had foil stolen from candy wrappers giving it a crumpled shine. There was still oil smears on Steve's, but Danny's had dog fur caught on the glue. Vito's looked stern and grumpy, with a coin drawn beneath it, like an egg. Eddie's had wrinkled, and feathers coloured like fire. A long purple ribbon ran through them. Each hand was taped to the ribbon to hold them down. He had clearly put a lot of effort into it, and they were deeply impressed. 

"Wow, look at that!" Danny breathed. 

"That's awesome Charlie, really awesome," Steve smiled.

The praise rolled across the room, and Charlie took it all in, beaming with delight to hear it all. Eddie nudged Grace's shoe with his own.

"Your go," he said.

"Um..." Grace took a deep breath as she thought, "I'm thankful to be home. And for Uncle V and pop-pop for getting me here."

She smiled at them as they smiled back. Eddie ran his hand through her hair affectionately as he did.

"I'm thankful for that too," Danny said.

"C’mon Danno, you can do better than that!" Steve laughed.

"Yeah Danno, you’re such a copycat!" Grace teased.

"Fine, fine, whatever! I’m thankful that, even though I might have been a little..." Danny trailed off, waving a hand thoughtfully as he tried to find the words to finish it.

"Crazy?" Steve offered.

"Insane?" Clara offered.

"Dramatic?" Grace asked.

"Wacko?" Vito asked.

"I wasn’t looking for suggestions from the floor, thank you very much! What I was going to say was, I may have been a little _over reactive_ -" Danny said. 

"Understatement," Eddie muttered, making Vito snort.

"I'm thankful that you all came anyway, and that you brought beer, because we were out and I had no idea how in the hell we were gonna get through today without it," Danny finished, earnestly. 

Steve pressed a hand to his chest, "Touching. I’m tearing up!"

Danny rolled his eyes, holding back a smirk, "Whatever, what are you thankful for you jerk?"

"It's not my go yet, Eddie still hasn't spoken," Steve country. 

"Me? You’re looking at it," Eddie said. He gestured to the others, "This family might be messy and loud and-"

"Cheap?" Clara asked.

"What is it with you lot and chiming in? Can't a guy get through one sentence without-" Eddie began.

"Not in my experience, no," Danny interrupted.

"Never," Steve grinned.

"I'm thankful that Tani asked me to be her maid of honour. I’m really excited, I haven’t been one before!" Noelani smiled.

She shifted her glasses as she said it. It was always slightly awkward to say she was grateful for things. She didn't like being vulnerable, even though she was shy. Tani reached out to hug her.

"Of course I picked you, you’re the best! I mean, it helps that I don't have many girl friends but I still love you," Tani smiled.

"I don't have many female friends either, this might be my only chance to be a bridesmaid," Noelani said.

"You can be mine," Danny said, without thinking. 

All eyes turned to him. His heart beat a little harder. Steve's thudded hard against his chest. Noelani glanced at Steve. She wasn't sure if he had asked yet, so she thought it would be smarter to keep her mouth shut.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Kidding. I'm not a bride," Danny forced a smile.

"Is that everyone?" Clara asked.

Her voice was tight as she desperately tried to keep her cool and move on as though it was a perfectly normal thing for her son to ask someone to be a bridesmaid when he wasn’t even engaged. Sometimes she couldn't understand how ridiculous her family could be.

"Kamekona?" Steve said.

"I'm thankful for the business expansions I've managed this year, and all the glory and the paper coming with it. My customer base is on the up and up. I'm even having fun showing up the competish!" Kamekona grinned.

Danny nodded, "That's pretty much exactly what I was expecting you to say."

"Way to stay on brand brother," Junior said.

"My brand is who I am, gotta keep it clear," Kamekona shrugged.

"We can see that, your face is all over this island. It used to be such a beautiful place before that!" Danny joked.

"Ha, ha. Just for that, I'm adding fifty cents to the cost of garlic shrimp," Kamekona warned.

"You think I won't splash out another fifty cents?" Danny asked.

"It all adds up bruh," Kamekona said.

"He won't anyway because he’s cheap," Clara muttered. 

She said it louder than she expected to an a rumble of laughter rippled through the room.

"Excuse me? You hearing this? My own mother thinks I’m cheap!" Danny cried.

"You are cheap," Steve said.

"I'm che- _I'm_ cheap?! What about this moron, the only reason I know he has a wallet is because he has to keep his hospital loyalty card handy at all times! No cash ever comes out of that thing, it might as well have a padlock on it!" Danny cried.

"Well at least he wasn’t waiting until _black Friday sales_ to buy-" Clara began.

"Black Friday Sales are a brilliant tradition! My favourite day of the year, anything you gotta get, wait till black Friday to do it. If you get out that shop alive you know you’ve earned it," Vito interrupted.

Danny's heart thudded. It was a particular skill Vito had. He could infuriate you one second and then saved your skin the next. Danny wasn't certain Vito even knew what he'd just done.

"That’s stupid. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard-" Eddie began.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! McGarrett still hasn't shared!" Jerry interrupted. 

Steve's palms were clamming up as the nerves gripped his stomach again. It had been a long time since he was this nervous. 

"The floor is yours," Noelani said.

Steve did his best not to roll his eyes. His stomach was tying itself in knots and the alcohol he had been drinking to relax just made him queasy now. 

"Thanks Noe..." Steve said. He took a deep breath as he set his bottle to one side and stood up straighter. "This is actually the first thanksgiving I've had in a few years now, where I actually have a lot to be thankful for. It's also the only year I haven’t almost died yet-"

Around him all the members of Five-O reached out to knock on the nearest piece of wood. Steve snorted.

"Thanks. Anyway, I'm thankful to everyone in this room, because in whatever way, however we got here, everyone here is ohana. My ohana. And I love you all. Especially my little family over here. Nothing on this planet makes me prouder than being your Steveo. Every morning I wake up beside Danny, and I thank God for just being there. Being happy. And then the dog brings in the paper and I go swimming in that beautiful ocean over there to keep fit for my job where I'm working with some of the greatest people I’ve had the privilege to know, and I just... I'm the luckiest man alive."

Danny smiled warmly as he felt his cheeks flush. His stomach ached for Steve. For a guy who hated vulnerability, he confessed surprisingly easily. 

"Look at McGarrett getting all soppy," Vito snorted.

"It's sweet. I'm glad he's found peace," Junior said.

"That's true, thank you Junior?" Steve said. He licked his lips nervously, "But if there's one thing I'm _thankful_ for, there's only one person that can be. One person who has gone above and beyond, to show loyalty and love, and to welcome me into the family, which I will forever be thankful to be a part of."

Steve turned towards his family and raised his bottle towards them, ready to toast. Danny sat forward eagerly. 

"Here’s to you, Gracie," Steve declared. 

He raised the bottle to toast to her, which took both her and Danny by surprise. The others all mirrored Steve's cheers for her, making her blush. Steve winked at her as she bowed her head. Both of them knew what this was about, but Danny was oblivious, and frankly, a little hurt. 

_"Grace?_ I'm sorry- why Grace? I feel like I’ve done a lot more to make you feel _l_ _oved-"_

"Hey, hey now, there are children present!" Eddie shushed him.

Steve chuckled as he stepped forward to rest a hand on Danny's shoulder and reassure him. "Danny you are without a doubt the best man I've ever known. Even though you’re insufferable, and you always have to be right, and you're incredibly curmudgeonly and -"

"What’s your point Steve?!" Danny huffed.

"My point is! Even though I love you, completely, you're not the one who travelled all the way to LA for me, without telling your father you were going, so that you could pick up a special package from Mary for me. Grace was," He said.

Danny frowned. He turned his head towards Grace. "What? You went to LA?"

"It was important. Steveo said not to tell you," she explained. 

Keeping this secret from her father made her bow her head sheepishly. Danny glanced accusingly between her and Steve.

"What was the package?" Danny asked.

"Have you got it there babe- thank you."

Grace slipped the golden ring to Steve without Danny being able to see it. Danny followed it with his eyes, frowning in confused suspicion. Steve held it between his finger and thumb so Danny could see it. His eyes widened as a murmur ran across the room. Grace felt Clara latch onto her arms desperately. A knot in Grace's stomach tightened eagerly.

"This ring was my fathers," Steve explained, calmly, even though he felt like he had swallowed lava. "Mary kept it to remember him by. She said it represented the love he and Doris had, because he never took it off, and he never stopped looking for her for as long as he wore it... I don't know much about how to make love work, and they weren't much help with that, but I thought it would be nice if this ring could be a simple of actual love for once. Honest love. For me and you."

Danny's jaw dropped as Steve sunk to one knee and the giggle of excitement spread. Clara's grip tightened, but Grace was beginning to think that wasn't caused by excitement. 

"Are you... are you really gonna..." Danny murmured under his breath. 

Steve swallowed as he licked his lips. Danny's eyes stayed wide as he heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest.

Steve quietly began, "Detective Daniel Williams..."

"Oh my God," Danny breathed. 

" _Oh My God_!" Clara hissed. 

"Babe, I want you to join my unit for a lifelong mission-" 

Steve's smile was impossible to fight as Danny groaned loudly.

"Are you kidding me?!" He demanded, trying not to laugh.

Danny's eyes were edged with tears as his chest stayed tight. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was everything he wanted and Steve had no idea. Steve laughed as he bit his bottom lip again.

"Okay, okay, seriously... I love you Danny. I really love you. Will you please do me the honour-"

"NO! NO WAY! NO!"

Clara leapt to her feet furiously, which really changed the mood of the room. Steve fumbled the ring, and nearly dropped it in his surprise. Grace hissed in pain as Clara finally let go of her. There were red finger prints were her hand had been.

"What?!" Steve yelped.

" _THE **ONE TIME** I CAN KEEP A SECRET THE **ONE TIME** SOMEONE TRUSTS ME ENOUGH TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT, AND YOU PROPOSE FIRST?!_" Clara yelled furiously. 

Danny's eyes bulged as his rapid pulse suddenly froze up, " ** _MA_**!"

"You were gonna propose?" Steve gasped. 

Danny's mouth flapped as he failed to come up with an answer, but that didn't matter, because the cat was out of the bag, and reactions were flying.

 _"You_ were gonna propose too?!" Eddie cried.

"You knew about Steve?!" Clara demanded.

"You kept this a secret?!" Vito was shocked.

"YES! YES I DID!" Clara yelled.

She had been so proud to be able to keep a secret and he part of the surprise for once, and now, in just a few seconds, it was ruined. Tani, however, was howling in delight. The chatter turned to shouting as everyone tried to figure out who knew what and who hadn't shared the gossip enough. It took Danny to shout loud enough to calm everyone down. 

"Alright, hands up who knew Steve was gonna propose?" He called.

Eddie, Vito, Eric, Grace and Charlie raised their hands. 

"Hands up who knew Danny was gonna propose?" Steve said.

Eddie and Vito's hands fell as Clara, Junior, Tani, and Noelani raised their hands. All eyes turned to Eric, Grace and Charlie who's hands had not moved. Charlie looked bewildered at all of it, Eric looked a little overwhelmed, but Grace was utterly beaming. This was the exact moment she had been waiting for. instantly the shouting started again.

" _And you didn’t say anything_?!" Steve demanded.

"How were we supposed to do that Steve?! That would have ruined it for both of you!" Eric yelled.

"And it was _hilarious!"_ Grace beamed.

"That too," Eric nodded.

"You knew the whole time?" Tani asked.

Noelani nodded, "Eric told me about Steve, I had no idea about Danny."

"Eric was at mine all night and he didn't mention it once," Jerry sounded offended. 

"Thanks a lot boss, I had ten bucks on Danny proposing from like two months ago," Tani grumbled.

"Ten bucks down the drain. Pay up!" Kamekona grinned.

"AFTER ALL THE WORK I PUT INTO THE LALANI-" Clara cried in anguish.

Steve's eyes widened, " _The lalani_?"

 _"Ma!_ You’re killing me!" Danny cried.

"How were you gonna propose on the lalani?" Steve urged.

"Firstly it was gonna be private so it would be as humiliating as this-" Danny began.

"Humiliating? How is this humiliating?!" Vito huffed.

"I think this is a mess, we should go and leave them to settle things-" Junior began.

"Are you kidding? This is the best Thanksgiving we've had in years, I'm not going anyway!" Tani beamed.

New Jersey was good for a lot of things. Chaos was one of them. Chaos Danny had missed. But Hawaii was a place of serenity. Of island time and cocktails on the beach, and just slowing down to appreciate things. With all the shouting going on here, Danny found himself wishing Jersey away for the sake of Hawaii. He took Steve by the hand.

"Just... come with me."

In all the shouting and demands about why the gossip hadn’t spread further, no one noticed the men slipping out the back door. Danny shut the door firmly behind them, and it practically silenced the yelling. 

It definitely silenced Steve.

His jaw hung open as he looked around in wonder. The sun was sinking away into the sea now, and the colours left behind were streaks of pink and purple and gold. The dying light made the electric candles bolder. Steve's chest heaved at the sight of the wicker couch and all of its cushions looking out towards their horizon. 

"This is so..."

Steve was breathlessly lost for words. Danny wandered up beside him.

"If you say corny I swear," he chuckled.

"Romantic." Steve finished. He smiled at Danny, "I should have known you'd do something like this."

The way his eyes shone melted Danny enough that he couldn't look at him for long. He glanced down at the ground nervously, as he tried to keep his cool.

"What, you calling me soft?" He teased.

"I’m saying if you think I'm a marshmallow full of testosterone, you should look in the mirror," Steve teased. He wandered over to the table to investigate the bottle in the cooler. He laughed as he read the label. " _P_ _ink_ champagne?!"

"That was ma," Danny said, sheepishly, "I wanted a longboard but she said-" 

"Damn, I could go for a nice cold longboard right now," Steve said.

Danny tugged at his collar nervously as he offered, "Dyou want me to go get you one, because-" 

"No, I want to hear you pop the question."

Steve set the bottle back on the table and folded his arms across his chest. He stood with his legs apart and his shoulders high like he was expecting a bad excuse, instead of a romantic proposal. Under the expectant glare, Danny felt his cheeks flush.

"Ah, see, I would, but uh, I haven’t got the ring," he admitted. 

"You brought me a ring?" Steve grinned.

"What, you think I'm cheap?" Danny scoffed, "of course I got you a ring, I got you a very nice ring, unfortunately Eddie thought it was nice too and now the vets got a metal detector tracking it!"

"Eddie ate my engement ring?" Steve laughed.

"Yeah. That's what made him sick," Danny said.

Steve laughed again and shook his head. Of course the dog ate their engement ring, why wouldn’t they expect that? Nothing could just go the way they planned it to, that would be too simple. Danny's chest eased to see how easily Steve found the laughter in the situation. 

"It's a good thing we have that one, huh?" Danny said.

"Nuhuh, this is my engagement ring to you. You can't claim it for me!" Steve argued. 

"Well you haven’t actually asked yet-" Danny began.

"Neither have you!" Steve argued. 

They stared at each other for a moment. Around them, honey tones melted into the sea as the tide brushed against the white sand, and the candles flickered obediently to their circuits. Between the sounds of the waves, and the whistle of the breeze passing through what was left of the trees, they could hear the muffled arguing from inside. 

It was almost the perfect moment really. The romance of the offer surrounded them, and the reality of the family Steve would be joining made itself known. Marrying Danny meant finding love and chaos. Loving Steve brought chaos. The two went hand in hand. They always had done. 

Steve grinned. "Should we ask together?"

"That's kind of corny," Danny smiled affectionately.

"More or less corny than proposing in the middle of what we're all thankful for?" Steve challenged.

"It's about as corny as dropping a ring I borrowed off of Grace into a glass of champagne while watching the sunset on the sea from a candle lit lalani," Danny laughed. 

"That does sound corny!" Steve beamed.

"Oh it does? maybe I just wont ask at all-" Danny said, his eyes shining.

"Danno will you marry me?"

"Only if you marry me."

"Deal."

Steve beamed. The delight in his eyes was palpable. He swooped forward to kiss Danny hard. His hands cupped Danny's cheeks as he did. Steve felt the way Danny grinned as he kissed him back. It was enough to make his stomach flip. Steve couldn't hold in the soft moan at the sensation. He couldn't help it. This man was all he wanted, all he loved, and he was finally going to marry him. 

Not even the champagne was enough to celebrate how happy he was.

Danny pulled back as he suddenly remembered something. 

"Hey," he muttered, before stealing another kiss, "You wanna see something real corny?"

Steve chuckled a deep, warm, chuckle. "Always."

Danny reached into his pocket to pull out the remote. He pressed the button, and around them, the golden lights flickered on. Steve gasped, which turned into another breezy laugh.

"Wow! This is - wow!"

"Huh?! Pretty good right?!" Danny grinned, "Eric, Grace and Ma set it up."

"Is that why they left the game early?!" Steve asked urgently. 

"Would you rather I left the game early to set up?" Danny challenged.

Steve wrinkled his nose as he looked at the lights, "No, but you decimated my team."

"And you still won, so stop complaining," Danny huffed.

Steve gazed back at Danny. His soft smile flooded his eyed as he wrapped an arm around his partners waste. "I did didn't I?"

Danny had a feeling Steve wasn’t talking about the game anymore. He smiled at the implication. Steve took Danny's hand in his, and slipped the ring onto his finger. It was just slightly bigger than it needed to be, but it did the job. Danny reached up to Steve's collar to pull him down for another kissed.

Steve broke it this time as something stuck him. "So, uh, quick question, nothing major-"

Danny peeled back from him cautiously. "What did you do?"

"No- I didn’t do anything-" Steve began. 

"Steve don’t lie to me, you always say nothing major when it's something definitely major! What did you do?!" Danny repeated sternly. 

"Nothing! I swear!" He insisted. 

"Then what is it?!" He demanded. 

"I just wanted to know who your best man's going to be! I didn’t realise you'd bite my head off over it!"

Danny frowned. He felt a little sheepish about jumping to conclusions. Either way he shrugged. "I... I haven’t thought about it."

"You haven’t?" Steve sounded surprised. 

"What, you have?"

"It's hard not to when your nephew's been following me around asking to be it!"

"Eric?! No. No way. There'll be models dressed as strippers waitressing so he can take more photos of them. No way, not at my wedding, no."

"Your wedding?"

"Our- _our_ wedding, our wedding."

Steve eyed Danny as he nervously worried his lip. Steve softened.

"Rachel planned the wedding didn’t she?" He said.

Danny bowed his head. "I didn’t even get to choose my own cufflinks. I had to wear special traditional ones her great uncle got married in. So did Stan. I had no control over any of it except funding."

"You can plan this one if you want. To make up for it," Steve offered.

Danny sighed as he shook his head, "No, Steve, no, that’s the problem. This - us - it's not a make up wedding. This isn’t about fixing what went wrong with the last one, its about making it work for us. We need to plan it together."

"Danny we couldn't even plan a restaurant together without arguing. And we were way over budget for that because you wouldn't settle for second hand-" Steve started.

"Second ha - sec - _excuse me_ for not wanting to fail health inspection because some guy who had a grill before us didn't know basic hygiene! Alright, it might have cost more, but we opened on schedule in the end!" Danny argued. 

"Danny, I love you, but for the sake of our relationship and my blood pressure, the bulk of the planning will be on you," Steve insisted. 

Danny's eyebrows rose as he pulled away from him. "Oh _now_ you’re worried about blood pressure huh? I have to stage an intervention to reduce your stress because it was killing _my_ blood pressure, but the stress of wedding planning on _your_ blood pressure-"

Steve's hand once again moved to Danny's jawline as he swallowed up his mouth. It was the most effective way to silence him. After a moment, Danny regained his senses and pushed him back roughly.

"Don't- don't do that, don’t _do that!"_ He huffed.

"Do what?" Steve asked innocently. 

"You really think that if you kiss me in the middle of an argument I'll forget what I was saying?" Danny scoffed.

"No. Of course not. I’m very sorry. Please, what were you saying?" Steve insisted. 

Danny paused to remember what he was saying. His face fell. "Well now I’m mad at you for a different reason."

Steve laughed again as his thumb bushed along Danny's earlobe. 

"Do you think it will hurt Junior's feelings if I ask Chin to be my best man?" He asked.

Danny shrugged. "I don’t know. You’ve known Chin for longer, but you haven't seen him in a while. But you were his best man. But you are Junior's best man. And the kid dotes on you. Maybe too much, he might go overboard with the bachelor party just to show off. It's a tough one."

"Yeah, I know, that’s why I asked your opinion," Steve said.

"Mmm... well I'm asking Adam, so. Work it out yourself."

"Thank you so much. That’s very helpful, thank you."

"Y’know what's funny? You could avoid that whole argument altogether if you just ask Eric."

"Would it be weird if I asked Cath?"

Danny blinked in surprise. On some level he knew that Steve still loved Catherine in the same way that he loved Rachel. There would always be a heightened sense of affection there. But since Steve had settled his differences with her on their flight to the mainland, he hadn't really mentioned her. To Danny's surprise he didn’t feel the same sense of jealousy he had come to expect in recently months. Steve was going to marry him now. Catherine wasn't really a rival anymore. Maybe they could go back to being friends again.

"Seems a bit mean but... I would like to see her again. I mean, even after everything we were friends. And if you can be mature enough to stay friends with her, I'm sure I can," Danny said, earnestly. 

"I don't know... this is really hard," Steve sighed.

"You could always ask Mary," Danny shrugged.

Steve's eyebrows rose at the idea. "Mary? Mary! That's perfect! No one could be mad at me for choosing my sister instead of them, and she knows me better than anyone else!"

"Uh huh?" Danny sounded unimpressed. 

"Ah you know what I mean."

"I can't wait to hear your vows. "Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedding husband? Yeah, sure, whatever."

"It doesn't matter what I say right?" Because it boils down to _I love you_."

Steve's hand trailed along Danny's jawline and down his side to settle against his hip as he pulled him in for another stolen kiss. Danny held onto his unimpressed look as he held back.

"Kisses will not work for escaping every argument," he warned.

"But it's always worth a try," Steve purred.

"Then try again," Danny challenge. 

Steve yanked him harder so he was pulled against his chest. The hand that made its way onto his hip swapped back to his neck. His hand against the curve of his neck, made Danny chuckle against his kiss. Steve pulled him closer, fully against his body.   
Danny's weight shifted as he tried to claw against Steve's hair, and it knocked Steve backwards.

Steve's arms were tight around Danny, yanking him forward. The shifting weight threw both of them off balance and they went tumbling down onto the wicker couch behind them, causing it to lurch slightly as they went.

Tangled against each others chests, they could hear their hearts pounding. After everything they had survived together, it was a wicker chair that almost killed them. Once look between them, and both knew the other was having the same thought. That realisation brought out a bubble of laughter between them. Danny pulled Steve's face closer and kissed him again.

"I love you Mr Williams," he muttered between kisses.

Between the following kisses, Steve's grip on Danny's thigh tightened as he mutted back, "I love you too Mr McGarrett."

Inside the house, the muffled arguing had transformed into celebratory cheering. Not that either of them noticed.


	15. Chapter 15

The four of them stood in the airport waving to their family as they walked through the door to get to their plane. Clara and Eddie waved as high as they could to still be seen, but Vito gave up almost immediately so he could keep a firm hold of his bag. 

Danny kept his hand in the air, but he didn't move it to wave. As much as he loved his independence, and his own immediate family, it always stung a little to see his parents heading home without him. 

Clara cupped her hands around her mouth to call, "Bye Charlie, bye Gracie! Nanny loves you!" 

"Bye grandma!" Grace cupped her hand around her mouth to call back.

Charlie just yelled, "Bye!"

Danny moved towards the window. Grace followed. Charlie's eyes hadn't left the door since they vanished. Steve chuckled as he scooped Charlie up and sat him on his hip. He carried him over to the window, where Danny and Grace were waiting. 

"Are they gonna be okay Steveo?" Charlie mumbled.

"Are they gonna be okay? Why, because they’re getting on a plane?" Steve asked quietly.

Charlie nodded quietly. His eyes were wide with concern. Steve tried not to smile, but the way his eyes were full of concern made it hard. Charlie still hated flying and he hated it when people he cared about went off in a plane.

"They're gonna be fine Charlie. Planes are really safe. Believe me. I'm a pilot," Steve winked.

Charlie hummed dubiously. That wasn't reassuring when he was still on the ground, not flying their plane. Still he held onto Steve a little tighter as they watched the plane fill with travellers. The plane pulled away from the airport and taxied out onto the runway. As it went racing off down towards take off, Danny waved again.

"Bye ma," he muttered, quietly.

Steve shifted Charlie to his other hip to wrap an arm across Danny's back. He tugged him closer to plant a kiss above his ear. Danny leaned against him for support but made no reaction to his kiss. His family were leaving, but his ohana was here. That's all that mattered.

Grace's phone beeped, catching their attention. She pulled it free from her pocket in one smooth well practiced move. 

"It's mom," she announced, "she says she's ready for us. She also says congratulations to you too."

"Isn’t that sweet," Steve smiled.

Danny smiled back, but he couldn't help the mild irritation that Steve wasn't jealous. He was never jealous of Danny's ex-partners, but Danny couldn't stop the flicker of jealousy every time one of Steve's was mentioned. And Rachel was the most important one.

"You shouldn't have your phone on in an airport, it's not safe," Charlie warned seriously. 

"That's a myth," Grace said.

"It's not safe!" Charlie repeated, stubbornly. 

Grace looked up at him, and saw the look Steve was giving her, that urged her to just humour him. 

"Right. I'll turn it off next time," she lied.

"Do we have to go to mom's?" Charlie pouted.

Steve and Danny shared a look. As utterly thrilled as Danny would have been to hear Charlie say that once upon a time, right now he was dying to finally get Steve to himself for a while. Besides, Rachel had already missed out on a festive season. Whether she celebrated it or not, the kids did, and she missed out on seeing their excitement. Since their relationship had settled into a comfortable friendship, he had started to feel guilty about what she was missing out on. Especially since he knew what it was like to miss out on seeing your kids growing up.

"It's your mom buddy, don't you wanna see her?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, but, what about Eddie?" Charlie asked.

"Eddie's fine, he's coming home today," Danny reminded him.

"I wanna see him," Charlie whined.

"You can see him next weekend," Danny promised. 

"But I wanna see him today!" Charlie whined again. 

"It's alright bud, I'll send you a picture when he comes home, we can video chat him. I bet he'll be happy to see you," Steve said. 

Charlie pouted, "Promise?"

"Do I promise? Hell yeah I promise!" Steve grinned.

Danny huffed at Steve. He had never been the best at taming his language, even when the kids were around. He tried, he really did, but as him a swear word and hell didn't enter his mind. Charlie's teachers were not thrilled by that. 

"Will you tell Eddie I love him?" Charlie muttered.

"Of course we will bud, but he knows," Steve assured him.

Charlie groaned as he buried his head against Steve's shoulder. If he could muster up some crocodile tears, he knew he could guilt Steve into letting him come to the vets with them. Grace, however, wasn’t about to let that happen.

"Come on Charlie, you can ride in the front if you want," she said.

"I want to see Eddie!" Charlie whined stubbornly.

"I'll let you pick the radio station if you get to the car before me," she offered in a sing song tone.

Charlie slowly turned his head to look at her. "Like a race?"

"Like a race," she nodded, grinning. 

"And I get to ride in the front even if I lose?" He asked.

"But if you lose, I get to pick the radio," she warned.

Charlie nodded, "okay!"

"Ready? Set? Go!" Grace yelled.

She set off rushing towards the exit doors, knowing that Charlie would be hot on her heels. He always was. He was as competitive as his fathers. Charlie pushed against Steve as he desperately wriggled out of his arms and went crashing to the floor. Before either adult could move to help him, he leapt to his feet, dusted himself off, and darted after his sister. 

"Bye!" Danny called after them. Neither responded. He huffed. "How'd you like that huh? One second he doesn't wanna leave, the next there's no goodbye."

"I guess that's parenting. Everything's got to have a worst part," Steve shrugged.

"Worst- no, no, this isn't the worst part. Grace is gonna find some goof to marry, and that'll be the worst part for her, but Charlie, hey, Charlie's still gotta hit puberty. You remember being a teenage boy, you know how stupid they are. Look at Eric, he's not been a teen for years and he's still like a bag of rocks-"

"Who you love dearly and worried about so much when he disappeared that you wouldn't let me follow the case of the missing turkey," Steve interrupted.

Danny hummed. He was annoyed that he couldn't deny it. "He might be the world's biggest moron, but he's still my nephew. Until Charlie came along he was the closest thing I had to a son. I'm still the closest thing he's got to a dad, of course I care about him. What? What is that look for?"

The look Steve was giving him was one of utter admiration. It shone through his eyes, even as his folded arms tried to remain stoic. He shrugged.

"Nothing. It's just funny. You always say I'm the one that goes around collecting stays, but if you think about it, it's you," Steve smirked. 

Danny frowned. "Me? How is it - how is it me?"

"You care about everyone you meet. You do everything to help them," Steve said.

"How? Don't you do things to help people?" Danny scoffed.

"Not like you. You moved here for Grace, complaining the whole time, and you still took the time to trust your partner enough and care about him enough to fight IA when they came sniffing around him. You left the crime scene to find a kid on his way back from school so he wouldn’t walk in on his parents bodies. You drove Kono home every night after Adam got arrested so she wouldn’t feel alone. You got your family to send a restaurant table to Hawaii for your parents to have a romantic dinner-"

"Those are just things you do Steve! Things any normal human person would do, which you don’t understand, because you were raised by robots," Danny argued. 

"You convinced Tani to join Five-O," Steve continued. 

"You opened your house to Junior when you found out he was homeless," Danny countered. 

"You helped Rachel through the labour of someone else's kid!"

"You took Nahele under your wing even though he stole your car!"

"You gave me your liver."

"You adopted Eddie, and then tried to adopt Mr Pickles."

"You brought that aunt a whole range of baby items when she was the only one left alive to care for her niece."

"You argued with the government so that Rachel wasn't allowed to take Grace away."

"You're marrying me."

"Is that a favour now? I’m telling you, it's just things you do for people you..." Danny's cocky smirk faded as he realised he was about to admit to Steve's argument. 

Steve's cocky smirk grew as he realized Danny had just backed himself into a corner and accidentally proved his point. "People you what? Care about? _Love?"_

"So what if I care huh? I see tragedy every day and I do what I can to make the world brighter, is that such a crime?!" Danny demanded.

"No. No, on the contrary, I think its an amazing thing, and I love you for it," Steve smiled.

"Yeah well I guess it has something to do with how you dropped yourself into my life, and threw together this new task force out of people who couldn't last in the cop world... I guess you bring it out in me," Danny shrugged.

"We bring it out in each other," Steve smiled warmly.  
Danny rolled his eyes. "Would you stop being such a sap?! I already agreed to marry you, shut up already!"

Steve laughed. There was so much light in his smile these days that Danny had almost forgotten how hard it once was to coax a smile out of him at all.

Almost. 

When he did things like fall to his knees and throw his arms out for a large Labrador to plough into him for a hug, it was easy to see how much love he was still full of. 

Steve deserved all the love in the world after everything that had happened to him.

"Your ring," the veterinarian nurse announced.

She had found an old ring box for them, and set it pointedly on the desk for them. Steve was still on his knees, scratching Eddie's belly as he wriggled merrily on his back. He looked up at Danny, who eyed the box.

"Is it uh... is it..." Danny stammered. 

"We've washed this a few times, boiled it twice, and washed it again. It's definitely clean," The nurse assured him. 

"Forgive me if I don't put it on immediately," Steve said as he stood up.

Disappointed at the sudden end of belly rubs, Eddie flopped off of his back and whined at his feet.

"I just finished cleaning it with distilled water before I put it in this box. I promise you, it's more disinfected then it was the day you brought it," the nurse promised.

Steve looked cautiously to Danny. "Can I..."

Danny shrugged, "it's yours babe, do what you like."

Steve felt his stomach flutter as he hesitantly picked up the ring box. Danny pushed his hands as far into his pockets as he could get them to go. He still had no idea how Steve was going to react, and he honestly felt a little sick thinking about it. He closed his eyes as Steve opened the box. His heart stopped beating...

"Wow! This is gorgeous," Steve breathed. 

Danny's eyes flicked open in surprise. "You like it?"

Steve grinned at him. "I love it. And I love you."

Danny heaved a sigh of relief. A smile cracked across his face. "You wanna put it on?"

Steve wrinkled his nose. It had nothing to do with the subtle rainbow diamonds that declared his affection for another man for all the world to see, and everything to do with the journey it had been through to reach him. 

"Maybe later," he said.

"Eddie's free to go as soon as you finish the paperwork," the nurse said.

"You hear that buddy?! Let's go find the car while Danno finishes up, huh? Yeah, lets go," Steve said to Eddie.

Eddie trotted obediently to heel as they walked through the waiting room.

"Steve, please don’t make me ride in the back while the dog rides shotgun again, okay? I only did it to you once, you don’t have to keep doing it back. Steve? Did you hear me? Steveo?!" Danny called.

"I think he's ignoring you," the nurse said. 

Danny sighed, "You do? Yeah I think so too."

He was. And Danny did have to ride in the back while Eddie sat up front with his head out of the window. Steve claimed it was better this way after what Eddie had been through. Danny just rolled his eyes. When they reached home, Steve held the door open for Eddie. His tail wagged madly as he jumped out of the car and made a beeline straight for the front door. 

"How's Eddie now?" Danny asked sarcastically. 

"Happier. He’s glad to be home," Steve said.

"He missed the drama, that’s why," Danny scoffed.

"That's a shame, because he wasn't here to see it," Steve said. 

He waggled his fingers pointedly as he unlocked the front door. The engagement ring sparkled as he did.

"You actually put it on!" Danny laughed.

"Of course I did! It's from you, of course I wanna wear it," Steve said.

"I mean, I love that, and I love you, but that is... disgusting!" Danny said.

Steve rolled his eyes as he followed Eddie back into the house. Eddie instead set about sniffing out everything that had changed in the few short days that he wasn't here to guard everything. They left him to it. 

Danny looked around the room at his own pace. It suddenly seemed so much bigger without everyone's luggage and their bedding crammed around the sofa bed. As he looked around the room, Steve's hands ran around his waist from behind and up across his chest so Steve's chin could rest on his shoulder. 

"Can you believe we're finally getting married? We're gonna be a real family," Steve muttered.

"We've always been a family," Danny pointed out.

Steve smiled against Danny's skin as he kissed his neck, "I know."

The sensation made Danny smile instinctively, "What? What are you smiling for?"

"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am," Steve said.

Danny snorted. "Lucky? You've been shot a million times, you've been blown up, kidnapped, tortured, drugged, now you're wearing a ring that's been through a dog! How exactly are you lucky?"

Steve's arms wound tighter around him as he kept punctuating his sentence with feathery kisses across Danny's shoulders. 

"Because I have survived being shot a million times, being blown up, kidnapped, tortured and drugged, and now I have a short loud and annoying fiancé who I love very dearly who has also survived explosions, kidnappings, torture and being manipulated by a man who held his daughter hostage. I also have a daughter who has survived two divorces, a kidnapping and a car crash, only to come out stronger and kinder than ever. I have a son who survived a life threatening disease, who sleeps in a race car and eats coco pops with chocolate milk for breakfast-"

"You’re gonna give him diabetes-" Danny began. 

Steve ignored him. "I have a gorgeous ring that had passed through a dog that survived Afghanistan, three years of police service and being shot, only to settle here. Together. On this couch. I feel pretty damn lucky."

Danny chuckled affectionately as he rolled his head towards Steve's. "You're a goof."

Steve could have said anything, but he didn’t need to. Instead he took advantage of Danny's new position to move the kisses across to the corner of Danny's mouth. It was all he could currently reach. As Danny chuckled again, he moved his head away. Steve's mouth moved towards his ear instead. 

"It's quiet huh?" Steve whispered. 

"Yeah. It's always quiet when the kids are gone..." Danny sighed wistfully. 

Steve nibbled at the top of Danny’s ear as he whispered, "The kids, the work kids, Eric, your parents, Vito-"

"Stop murmuring names in my ear, that's my family Steveo," Danny said.

"And none of them are here. The house is empty Danny. We're not sleeping on the fold out anymore. We have total-" Steve's hand moved up the inside of Danny's shirt, across his belt buckle as he went, "and complete-" he sucked at Danny's earlobe as he lowered his voice even further to whisper, "privacy..."

Danny felt a surge run though his body, that caused him to press against Steve. Steve chuckled as Danny spun around in his arms, his eyes dark and insatiable. 

"Get up those stairs right now," he demanded. 

Steve chuckled darkly, "Yes sir."

"But we have to be quick. We still have to send Charlie a video of Eddie now he's home," Danny warned. 

"They're probably only just finishing lunch Danny, they've got to tell Rach the whole story of what happened. We've got time!" Steve instead. 

"Then stop wasting it and get upstairs!" Danny said.

Danny headed up them head of him, while Steve watched the way his ass moved up them, and grinned. Danny paused halfway up to look back, a flicker of mischief in his gaze.

"And bring the handcuffs," he purred. 

Steve's jaw dropped lustfully. It turned into a grin as he repeated, " _yes sir_!"

The coldness of the metal bands on their fingers was new, even if the tender, playful touches were deeply familiar. New, unknown, and a little nerve wracking, they were still the most exciting rings either had ever worn. 

Well. Most exciting so far.


End file.
